#one of the rare times namaari is right

[shy-peacock]

Could you right a sequel to that pregnancy scare fic— maybe with namaari meeting link and raya finally and no longer worried like before😭

Sure thing ❤️ rated G and I wrote this awhile ago and forgot to post 😂🥲 Enjoy 👍

It’s hard to believe people can start off so small. Eight pounds, hardly anything, or less in Linh’s case.

Fragile and tiny, just barely here for even a week and she’s already caused her family to have a massive amount of concern for her and her Mom.

Namaari hoped that this meant years and years of peace for them in regards to Linh’s health, never to worry about losing her like they nearly had the other day. Getting over the big “bump” that was her birth, moving now to a simpler, easy times with their child’s health from there on out.

A ridiculous idea- as all children get sick, yet Namaari hoped for it all the same. Her stomach still in knots about the whole ordeal, unable to feel at ease until Raya and Linh were home and life was back to normal.

On doctors orders- that didn’t seem like any time soon.

“She’s doing quite well-“ the Doctor had mentioned, keeping a warm smile on her lips. “It’s all protocol, we just need to make sure she and Raya have regained their strength before they head home.”

“The holidays are approaching…” Namaari’s Mother pointed out then, who was there in the room as they spoke, “will they be home by then?“

Namaari knew the answer before the doctor even spoke, empathy all over her face.

“Soon after- they will more likely be home before New Years at best..”

Namaari put on a brave face for Raya when the news was delivered to her, holding her close when eventually the tears began to fall. Knowing she missed being home, being with Chau, and the comfort of having her own space while she healed- a sort of grounding point for Namaari as she knew that whatever she was feeling, as hard as it was, Raya was going through far worse.

Overall Namaari had the choice to leave- Raya did not.

Nor did Linh, who loved when Namaari came to visit her in the NICU, and was devastated whenever she had to leave. Expressing emotions the best way her tiny mind knew how, crying the moment Namaari’s touch left her. Responsive, curious, and relaxed in her Mother’s arms when she could stay.

Namaari would spend moments with her till the nurses came to tell her it was time to leave, talking with Linh about anything that came to her mind. About Raya, about her brother Chau, and all the family that was waiting for her outside the hospital walls. Encouraging her to keep growing stronger, to keep getting better and healthier so that they could take her home.

When she had her time with Linh, she’d spend the rest with Raya. Keeping her mind busy, playing board games or talking about each other’s day. If the nurses allowed it, Namaari would walk her to see Linh or take her by wheelchair out for some fresh air. Knowing what a little sunshine could do for the soul, Raya’s mood lightened almost immediately the moment they stepped outside and the cool air blew through her hair.

It took this for Namaari to realize how difficult this was to Raya. Yes, she missed her family, but this was also one of the rare times Raya was forced to stay within the boundaries of her hospital room and bed. She had always been a free spirit, always wanting to move and go and do as much as she could. This being the first time in her life that she was not physically capable of doing the average day to day tasks- let alone come and go as she pleased.

So Namaari did what she could. She continued to visit Raya as often as she was allowed, her Mother and Raya’s Father filling in the gaps between the days she couldn’t. She had Chau on voice calls and video chats often, sent pictures of him playing so that she wouldn’t feel like she was missing out on his fun. She spent hours with Linh, days visiting her again and again. Bringing her to Raya, bringing Raya to her. Making sure that they were the happiest they could be in this situation.

Namaari wanted to make her feel better, knowing she would not physically be better for a time. Her reward being her wife’s smile or Linh’s sigh of relief when at last she was in her arms. Perhaps this is why she didn’t notice the way her body held her emotions deep inside herself, pushing it all away to deal with on another day.

However Raya did.

It was late, she was helping Raya move from the wheelchair to her bed. Propping her up on the edge of it, while Raya held her shoulders for balance. Her slipper fell off in the transition and Namaari knelt down on her knee to retrieve it, placing it back for Raya before her wife even noticed it was gone.

In the exchange, Namaari felt Raya’s hand leave her shoulder and come then to her hair. Running her fingers through it, pushing it back and tucking it behind her ear as Namaari looked up at her. Accepting the token of affection as Raya’s hand cupped her cheek and the other continued to play with her hair, rubbing it gently.

“Namaari…” she spoke then, “are you okay?”

Namaari chuckled, softly, confused by this question.

“Yeah-…why?” She questioned, “is everything okay with you-…are you hurting?”

“No-…” Raya laughed, shaking her head, “I am fine, dep la..” she continued reassuringly, “but you- I’m worried about you.”

Namaari smiled, only later realizing she was forcing it through.

“I’m fine, Raya.”

“I can tell you’re not though…” she confirmed, “I can see you’re overwhelmed.”

Namaari felt her body pause at the comment, her brain scanning every inch of her before shaking the thought away. Noting that twist in her gut, the way her skin felt itchy in discomfort, knowing she was upset but trying to push it aside.

“I-…Raya, I’m fine, I just wanna take care of you-“

“And I wanna take care of you.” She insisted, “and right now, I’m okay…so you don’t have to worry about me, let me worry about you.”

Namaari scoffed, playfully, her mouth opening to dismiss this again. Only now she felt her throat was tightening and her eyes burned as tears neared. She pushed it back, tried to force it back down again, but it was too late. It was already rising, her body felt it from deep within her to the very edges of herself. Before she knew it, she was sobbing. Voice cracking as she tried to speak.

“I’m f-ine…I’m fine..” she tried to laugh, her head burying itself into Raya’s lap. Feeling then as her wife bent, wrapping her arms around her. Rubbing her back, leaning her head against Namaari’s as she comforted her. Making her cry even more.

“I’m…not fine..” she cried, “I-“

“It’s okay,” Raya soothed, “I know-…”

“I almost lost you and Linh…” she sobbed, “I was so afraid-“

“I know-..”

“I couldn’t do anything..I couldn’t help you, I just had to wait and hope you made it through!”

“We did, Namaari…we’re safe now and you did everything you could.”

Namaari broke down into her arms, laying herself completely into her lap as she cried and sobbed and spoke every last fear she had into the room. Raya listening to every one, soothing her, letting her sadness empty from her body at last. Namaari had kept it in her for days now, weeks even. Her emotions of that day, her absolute devastation at her worst nightmare coming true. The trauma of sitting in a room while your loved one was dying in the next, unable to do anything but wait. It had made her feel useless, unable to save the people she loved from this terrible pain. Reason why she had pushed herself to continue on, wanting to do as much as she could now to make up for how she had let them down. Namaari explaining this all to her wife while she listened.

“You never let me down-…it was a tragic incident, Namaari.” Raya continued to assure her, “it could have happened to anyone…it could have happened to you during Chau’s birth..! But we survived and we are okay-…all that matters is that you are here now.”

And Namaari knew that. She knew it mattered more that they were all safe, that they all were here now as a family. As the doctor said, Raya and Linh were both going to be just fine. But hearing it from Raya had her relaxing into her embrace, her tears still falling with ease but a peace overcoming her as well. Truly believing it now, truly knowing they would be just fine.

~~~~~~~

For such a little thing, she truly has a big personality. A big mindset. A big world to take on whether the world was ready for her or not.

Her teachers say she’s a genius, her coaches say she’s the best player on their team. She skipped a grade because she was bored with the lessons in second grade and stood her ground against the bullies in third that tried to make her feel bad about her amazing mind.

Namaari knows she’s strong, smart and- even more than that, she’s kind. Maybe not to her brother most times…but kind where it matters. Kind even when it’s easy not to be so.

It’s wild to think she’s still so young, her whole life ahead of her that Namaari can’t wait to see unfold. She often thinks back to her birth, the scariest day of her life, a pride filling her at how much she’s accomplished since then. Physical therapy, several doctor visits to ensure her health was progressing well, and extra time working on her speech when she was unable to speak the words she needed to say. All which she went from struggling to catapulting into a master sort of skill level, outdoing herself and the goals they had provided for her.

Proving to the universe that although her start was on shaky ground, Linh steadied herself and took off with life at a racing speed.

Ready for anything that comes her way.

[everyonesfavoritelesbowrites]

HEY BESTIE

Here’s my challenge for you.

TOP (rough) NAMAARI meeting Raya in the club and they have some fun in the back 😂❤️ I KNOW YOU CAN DO IT LOL

Damn you really know how to challenge me-

Just a lil' bit

Rayamaari - RATLD

Modern AU

Rating: E

TW: s3x, sm*t

Ao3

Namaari doesn't do this whole club thing. 

It's loud. 

It's crowded. 

It's full of drunk lunatics. 

But, she came here to be with her best friend—who was also her crush. No, it wasn't a crush. Namaari loves Raya but Raya doesn't love her back. They are just friends and if that's all Raya will give her, she'll take it. 

It was hard to just be friends but it is either suffer in silence or lose her best friend. Namaari can't lose Raya, so she has to just come to terms with just being her friend.

She made do, successfully hiding her true feelings. Resisting the urges to kiss her and hiding the wet dreams she had of her. Or at least, she thought she was hiding them successfully. 

Sisu, friends of both of them and the owner of this club, 'The Sisudatu', had figured out Namaari's feelings for Raya a long time ago and she has been trying to make them get together ever since. Namaari refused, knowing Raya wouldn't like her back. 

This was probably another one of Sisu's crazy plans to get them together. Inviting them to her club, one Namaari rarely ever went when it was open. Usually during the day when the club was closed and only to get to the second floor, where Sisu lived. 

Despite the loud music and loud crowd, Namaari did have some fun. Seated at the bar with Raya, drinking whatever Sisu decided to make for them this time and talking. Raya asking occasionally how Namaari was doing, if she wanted to leave or if the noise was too loud. Which brought a fluttering feeling to her chest but she just said she was fine. 

And she really was. Well, that was until someone approached Raya. 

Which shouldn't be a big deal, because Raya is single and so she can pursue anyone she wants. Namaari can't tell her what to do. She can't get jealous. She has no right to. 

The woman that approaches Raya was short with brown hair and tan skin, dressed in an outfit that wasn't too far away from being considered underwear. The woman looks good, curvy and beautiful but Namaari doesn't care. Raya is ten times—no one hundred times—more beautiful than this woman. Raya can do much better. 

But it isn't her place to say. 

Raya can make her own choices.

They are just friends. 

She has no reason to get so upset. 

No reason. 

Namaari forces herself to look away when the woman becomes a little handsy, placing her hand on Raya’s bicep, complimenting her muscles, sliding her hand down to her waist, inching in even closer to whisper something. 

She keeps drinking, hoping to get rid of the unpleasant feeling in her chest and gut. She doesn't look at them but it doesn't help, knowing what is happening. Knowing she can't do anything, because Raya isn't her's.

It's barely been more than twenty minutes when Namaari can't take it anymore, she places her glass on the counter before standing from her seat and leaving. Not wanting to leave Raya behind despite wanting to get away, she heads towards the back of the club, being allowed to go back there thanks to Sisu, mostly to give her the space if she needed to get out of the noise. 

Now she just needed to get away from Raya. 

Finding a safe spot to sit and calm down, she places her head in her hands. Namaari feels stupid for being jealous, hating to admit it to herself but knowing that it definitely is jealousy, mad at herself for being so childish and immature. 

"Namaari?" 

Namaari tenses, straightening her posture when she hears Raya's voice. She didn't think Raya would even notice that she snuck away, being too busy with that other girl. 

"Namaari? Are you alright?" 

She doesn't answer, hearing Raya's voice grow closer as she tries to find her. 

Namaari hears Raya stop just behind her, hesitating for a moment before speaking again. 

"Namaari? Did you get overwhelmed?" 

"Something like that." Namaari mumbles, absentmindedly rubbing the fabric of her shirt between her fingers. "Go have fun." 

"Something is wrong, what is it?”

“Nothing, everything is fine. Go back out there and have fun.” Namaari’s tone was sharp, annoyed, revealing that she truly wasn’t fine. 

“It’s not fun without you,” Raya says, looking at Namaari with concern. “So either come back out with me or I’m going to stay in here with you.” 

“What about that girl?” Namaari says without thinking, annoyed and disgusted just thinking about her. “Seems like you two were having fun, she’s probably waiting for you.”

Namaari turns around to look at Raya, finding her starring at her, doing so for a long moment, mouth slightly open as she takes in what Namaari is saying. Namaari stares back at her, expression annoyed and hurt. 

“You- That’s- That’s one of Sisu’s bartenders, ‘maari.” Raya explains, “Sisu obviously told her to come over.” 

Namaari didn’t realize that she was one of the bartenders, but that didn’t change anything. “Are you sure she just didn’t want to flirt with you? Why would Sisu even tell her to do that?”

Raya examines Namaari for a second before letting out a laugh, frustrating Namaari even more. She Stands to fully face Raya. 

“Why are you laughing?”

“You’re jealous.” 

“I am not.” Namaari scoffs, disgust on her face. “She’s not my type.”

Raya shakes her head, “No, you’re jealous of her. Sisu was trying to make you jealous of her so she told her to flirt with me.”

“I don’t care who flirts with you.” Namaari lies, Raya sees right through it. 

“Really? Why are you so upset about her flirting with me then?” Raya challenges, giving her a look that tells Namaari she knows she’s right. “You didn’t like her flirting with me because you want it to be you, you didn’t like her touching me because you want to touch me, right?”

“What if I do?” Namaari snaps, pausing afterward, watching Raya’s reaction. Slowly realizing what was happening. “You were trying to make me jealous too, you went with it to get me to admit it, huh?”

“It worked, didn’t it? You are jealous and now you know but you still aren’t doing anything about it.” Raya points out and Namaari just now realizes how close they actually are, bodies close to touching. “You have your chance, dep la. Are you going to take it?" 

Namaari lowers her gaze to Raya’s lips, glancing back up to her eyes to find Raya doing the same. She has her chance and she’s going to take it. 

She presses her lips onto Raya’s, hands gripping onto her hips while Raya’s hands reach up to grab her face. Namaari pushes Raya backward as she runs her tongue across Raya’s bottom lip, waiting for the latter to open her mouth so she can push her tongue into her mouth. 

Both of them moan when their tongues meet, Namaari continuing to push Raya backward until they hit a wall, pressing her body into Raya’s, sandwiching her between her and the wall. 

Their kiss is rough, all tongue and teeth, eager, pouring out the feelings they have been hiding for a long time now. Her mouth tastes of alcohol, yet not as much as Namaari's does. Namaari was definitely drunk, or at least extremely tipsy, Raya definitely was the more sober of the two. A rare occurrence, it's usually the other way around. 

Namaari never thought she would be this forward, never having the confidence to do so but perhaps it was the liquid courage she downed. Tipsy enough to let her walls down and ignore her insecurities, leaving room for confidence—doing what she had only dreamt of doing before, admitting her feelings and kissing Raya. Raya was slightly tipsy herself, she didn’t need the alcohol to give her the confidence but it sure helped, having to want to do this for a long time now. 

Namaari was brave with her hands too, not caring they are so close to the club, dozens of people a room away. They can easily be caught if any drunk lunatic wanders off, seeing Namaari groping Raya and kissing her fiercely. 

“Namaari-.” Raya moans out when Namaari pulls away from the kiss to instead press open-mouthed ones to her neck. 

Raya gasps in surprise when Namaari bites on her pulse, sucking a bruise onto the skin. Effectively marking her, a message to say that she’s Namaari’s. 

Still biting her neck, Namaari sneaks her hands underneath Raya’s shirt, pausing to wait and see if she’s gone too far. Raya doesn’t say anything, instead, she grabs the bottom of her shirt and pulls it up and off, leaving her just in her sports bra and ripped jean shorts.

Namaari pulls back just enough to get a look at her, she has seen Raya like this before, usually when the two are working out together, but it feels different under this circumstance, admiring her beauty more openly.

She kisses Raya again, her hands feeling her abs, something she has wanted to do for a long time now. 

Raya moans when Namaari’s hands cup her breasts, exploring with touches before slipping her hands under the fabric, feeling hardened nipples against her palms. 

One of Raya’s hands moves up to grab ahold of her head, the other cradling the back of her neck as she kisses her fiercely. She unashamedly moans into Namaari’s mouth, hips jerking forwards into Namaari’s. 

Namaari grinds her pelvis into Raya’s in return, enjoying the sounds the Heart woman makes. Wanting to hear it again, Namaari keeps thrusting into her, enjoying the friction it provides. 

Namaari pulls away from the kiss, biting Raya’s bottom lip while trailing her hands down Raya’s body. Slow but firmly touching her muscles until she finds the button on Raya’s shorts, playing with it. 

“Can I?” Namaari asks, her lips pressed against Raya’s ear. 

Raya nods eagerly, “yes.”

Namaari bites her bottom lip, loving how desperate and needy Raya sounded just now. Unbuttoning Raya’s shorts, she slowly pulls them down until they drop to the floor, wanting more access that the shorts were definitely limiting. 

Her hands grip Raya’s thighs, touching and groping them. She keeps doing this for a long moment, enjoying the noises Raya makes and how she feels against her. She drags her nails on the inside of Raya’s thighs, smirking when Raya shakes and moans. 

“Namaari, please.”

“Please what?” Namaari asks, feigning innocence. 

“I want you.” 

Namaari's hands slide up to hold her hips, her body rocking into Raya’s. “How do you want me?”

“You’re fingers,” Raya begs, “inside me.”

Namaari can’t hold back the moan that leaves her lips, she obeys and moves her hands down, looping her fingers around the band of Raya’s boxers, slipping them down until they fall to the floor with the shorts. 

Brushing past soft curls, Namaari slides her hand down between her legs, fingers exploring her wet folds. 

So fucking wet. 

All because of her. 

Namaari feels some sort of pride and honor having caused this, wanting to be the only one who does this to her. 

Raya moans, hips jerking forward to meet the touch, one hand gripping Namaari’s hair and the other her bicep. 

“‘Maari-.”

“How many?” Namaari husks into her ear, teasing her entrance with her fingertips, gathering her arousal, and bringing it to her clit, circling it once before teasing her entrance again. 

“T-two, please.” 

Namaari moans when she enters her, her two fingers sliding in easily, her walls pulsing around her fingers. Raya moans louder than her, hands gripping onto her for dear life, eyes shut tight. 

Namaari starts with a slow rhythm, biting her bottom lip as she feels Raya’s walls squeeze around her fingers. Her cunt makes a dirty wet sound and she begins to pick up the pace, driving Namaari on. 

“Y-... you’re so big, dep la.” Raya moans right into her ear, sending a wave of arousal through her body. It is strangely hot for Raya to call her big, it’s only two fingers but she moans at the statement anyway, starting to thrust her hips along with her fingers. 

"Say my name." 

"Namaari, ah!" 

"You're so hot, Raya." Namaari admits in a low voice, working herself up just on Raya's needy voice and nails digging into her back. "I've dreamt of doing this to you for a long time, I have dreamt of my fingers inside you, then I would wake up all hot and bothered. I would finger myself just like this, imagining it was you." 

"Fuck, Namaari…" 

"You feel so good around my fingers, Raya. Better than I could have ever imagined." 

Raya is close, Namaari can tell by the way her thrusts become sloppy and her body shaking, her walls pulsing around her fingers. 

"Yes… yes! Ah! Namaari! Don't stop!" 

"I won't." 

Raya turns her head, trying to capture Namaari's lips, one of her hands pulling her face by her hair. Namaari kisses her roughly while Raya’s other hand lowers. 

Namaari moans in surprise when Raya's hand finds her core, exploring her folds before finding her clit.  

Namaari doesn't stop or falter in her pace, kissing Raya roughly as the latter starts to circle her clit. 

"Fuck, Raya-." Namaari moans against her mouth, her own thrusts becoming sloppy as she feels herself close. 

She has been dreaming of touching Raya and Raya touching her for a long time now, it's almost overwhelming how fast this is going but she doesn't stop, wanting more. The feeling of Raya touching her while she touches Raya is a different sensation entirely, feeling herself close already. 

"Namaari, I'm- I'm close- ah!" 

"Me- me too," Namaari presses her forehead against Raya's, her grip on her hip tightening and so does Raya's grip in her hair. 

They barely last a few more seconds before they are thrown over the edge, almost at the exact same time. Both of them moaning out each other's names and incoherent words. 

They fall to the floor, still holding each other and panting. Taking a long moment to calm down. 

They end up adjusting their positions, Raya sitting against the wall with Namaari practically in her lap, lowering her head to rest in the crock of Raya's neck. 

Namaari felt more sober once calmed down, wondering if she was rather drunk on jealousy and lust than alcohol. 

“I have a confession.” Namaari says after a long moment. 

Raya runs her fingers through Namaari's hair. "Yeah?' 

The liquid courage has left her, she no longer feels confident enough to say but she needs to, especially after what they have just done. 

“I’m… I'm in love with you, have been for a while now.” 

Namaari pulls away to look at Raya when she doesn't say anything, concerned and worried she shouldn't have said that. 

But Raya just chuckles, smiling admiringly. “Really? I never would have guessed.”

Namaari's brows furrow.

“I’m kidding.” Raya laughs, reaching up to cup Namaari’s face into her hands. “I love you too.”

“Really?”

Raya laughs again, stroking her thumbs over Namaari's cheeks. “You literally gave me the best sex I have ever had, I would be a fool not to.” 

Namaari narrows her eyes at her. 

“I’m kidding again, although that first part is true.” Raya says with a smile. "I have loved you for a while, just wasn't sure you felt the same way. I made a wild guess tonight and good thing I did, hmm?" 

Namaari smiles with a flush. "Mm, yeah. Good thing you did." 

Raya leans in to press a long chaste kiss against Namaari's lips, pulling away to look into her eyes. "I love you Namaari." 

"I love you too, Raya." 

Raya kisses Namaari again, softer than before but still passionate, expressing all the emotions and feelings of their words into one kiss. 

Pulling away from the kiss, Namaari feels a sense of warmth and happiness, never expecting this to happen. 

"Want to… come to my place?" Namaari offers, her voice shy and uncertain. 

"You're so cute. All shy after just fucking me in the back of our friends club."

"I'm not cute-." Namaari scoffs, seemingly offended but not enough to avoid Raya's kisses to her cheeks. 

"Sure you aren't." Raya laughs. "Let's go to your place… cutie."

[thedragonnerd]

Rayaari headcanon - a gift of cute canon Rayaari with a child

(inspired by this lovely anon)

They've been married for three years before Raya tentatively brings up the subject of children. It isn't as if they haven't discussed this before; Raya knows Namaari wants to expand their family at some point. She can see how much the 'kittens' of Fang flock to Namaari, and how much she loves spending time with them in return. Raya's always been the more hesitant one, not because she doesn't like or want children, but because deep down, she fears she won't be a very good parent. Now however, she feels far more confident that now is the right time, and so she broaches the conversation with Namaari.

They end up adopting a tiny girl from Talon, who is the sole survivor of an accident that claimed the lives of both her parents. Raya and Namaari both know loss, especially the loss of a parent, and they also both know how to survive in the face of hardship. They vow that their daughter's life will only improve from this moment onwards, and that they will honour her biological parents by keeping her safe and loved.

The first night they bring her home, neither can sleep, terrified that something might happen if they aren't monitoring her. Instead, they sit up and watch her for almost the entire night.

After that, however, the routine becomes far too exhausting. They take it in turns to do the midnight feedings, and for once, neither has a problem with falling asleep, or even with nightmares, so exhausted that crawling into bed and slipping into a dreamless sleep is the new normal.

Raya loves to sing to their daughter, feeling a connection by passing on the tradition of her mother's lullaby. Often when Namaari hears her voice through the house, she will pause whatever she is doing, and sneak up to watch her wife singing to the baby in her arms.

Namaari loves to tell their daughter stories. 'I don't think she's quite old enough yet to understand the complexity of different dragon magic,' Raya tells her with a laugh one day. But Namaari will narrate endless mythology or even her own creations, adding in voices for different characters and dramatically acting out the important parts of the story. Their daughter's first giggle is over an intense dying scene she is portraying on the bedroom floor.

Benja loves to visit and take his granddaughter out on walks, carrying her into nature and pointing out different brightly-coloured plants and butterflies.

Virana also loves to come and visit her granddaughter, and she will take the baby on her tours of Fang's expanded settlements, where everyone is delighted to say hello to their Chief and to the tiny baby strapped to her front.

Their daughter's first word isn't 'ma' or any derivative thereof; instead, it is a small and gurgled 'kitty!' when Namaari's serlot comes into view, tiny hands clapping in joy. Raya is quietly jealous about this, and goes around repeating 'Tuk Tuk' to her daughter for the next two weeks.

As their daughter grows, Raya still occasionally has moments of self-doubt in how good she is at being a parent. Even though her own Ba is amazing, she still went for so long without a parental figure during many of her formative years, and so she feels she doesn't have many parenting examples to pull from. When Namaari sees her fall into this sort of spiral, she makes sure to tuck Raya's head under her chin, wrapping her arms around tightly and reminding her that she's a great mother.

Namaari meanwhile is terrified that their daughter will hate her when she learns about Namaari's past. 'You mean, the part where you saved all of Kumanda?' Raya asks, with a gentle smile. 'The part where I almost doomed it all to extinction,' Namaari rebuffs. But Raya shows time and time again that she has forgiven Namaari, and the more Namaari begins to forgive herself, the less fearful she becomes.

They can both be the scary parent. No matter how much their daughter tries to work the big puppy eyes ('She gets that from you,' Namaari grumbles, despite Raya not being her biological mother), one of them will step up to play the 'bad cop' when they see other other one starting to crumble.

Namaari however has a bad habit of sneaking sweet treats to her, perhaps since she herself has a terrible sweet tooth. And Raya has a tendency to allow their daughter to stay up past her bedtime since they're having too much fun playing make-believe.

On the rare occasions when Raya manages to drag Namaari away from the family and from her duties for a date night, there is no end to the offers of babysitters.

Benja loves taking her to the kitchen, teaching her how to make all sorts of tasty treats (although the kitchen often needs a serious clean-up afterwards). Virana adores taking her to visit the serlots, where they play with the tiny kittens, or go for rides together. Sisu is only allowed to babysit with supervision from another adult, but sometimes she, Boun and Boun's older sister all spend the evening playing games with her. Tong meanwhile brings his own child and Noi for playdates.

When their daughter is five, Namaari and Raya take her on a family picnic one summer's evening. They all sit in the grass, leaning back against Tuk Tuk, and watching as the stars slowly begin to emerge. Then they take the moment to ask the tiny child tucked between them how she'd feel about having a sibling.

A few months later, they bring home a baby boy.

[smxmuffinpeddling]

The first time Benja officially met the infamous Princess Namaari (infamous through his daughter’s repeated grumblings about said princess of Fang), she placed a blade in front of him with her head bowed. Her face is somber and her strong shoulders weighed down by an invisible force.

Chief Benja had sensed this sort of presence before from old warriors or generals that have overseen countless battles. More recently he has caught this presence on his daughter in moments where she thinks he isn’t observing the woman she has become. It made him sad to see these haunting expressions on people so young. The princess of Fang appeared to be burdening herself with more ghosts than most.

“And what would you have me do with this, Princess Namaari,” Benja asked in his most patient tone as he eyed the blade placed on the ground before him. He had a sneaking suspicion based on rumors and Raya’s own stilted recaps of what transpired before and after he was turned to stone. There was a lot to process, but Benja could only make judgments based on what he could see before him.

“As the Chief of Heart, you have the power to punish war criminals,” Namaari responded, eyes still on the ground. Chief Benja sighed from deep within his bones and set aside the tea he brought to share when the princess requested a private meeting with him. She continued, “The talks of peace would go much smoother if the people of Heart received justice for the wrongdoings committed against them by Fang. It would mean the most coming from you.”

“And you think the best way to do this is to offer yourself up for persecution?”

“Healing can't begin if the other tribes feel Fang hasn't paid the price," Namaari reasoned, almost casually. As if she wasn’t offering her young life to him on a platter. "If it helps the people of Fang… of Kumandra,” Namaari corrected herself, resigned to the fate she envisioned for herself. “Then yes.”

“Does Raya know you are here?” Benja inquired out of curiosity. Namaari’s gaze snapped to his for the first time. They held gazes for a moment, guilt creeping up in Namaari’s expression as she looked away.

“No, she doesn’t.”

Chief Benja hummed to himself, stroking his beard in thought. "What you say is not without merit." He busied his hands by setting out the cups for tea. It would be a waste to let it grow cold after all. "I admit, I have been approached by some of my people regarding this very topic.”

Namaari nodded, unsurprised. “Would you prefer to do it publicly then?” Her shoulders seemed to slump even more at the thought.

Benja couldn’t help chuckling morbidly as he poured tea into two cups. “Now you’re just laying it on thick.”

Her brows knit together and her mouth twisted, ignoring the cup he offered her. “I’m serious about this, Chief Benja.”

He responded with a look conveying that he was taking her gravely seriously. “Drink. I made it myself.”

The princess seemed to notice the offering for the first time and accepted it hesitantly. He politely took a sip first and she followed. He allowed his Fang guest to breathe for a moment. “What do you think?”

“I think I should pay for the hurt I’ve caused,” Namaari was quick to answer.

“About the tea, Princess Namaari,” he corrected with a hint of a smile on his lips.

“Oh.” If the princess deflated anymore in front of him, she’ll blow off on the breeze before their meeting concluded. “It’s excellent.”

The smile on his face grew warmer. “Glad to hear it.” They continued to sip until he poured them a second cup.

“Raya told me that you came together to save Kumandra.”

“I did not make it easy for her,” Namaari said, the tea turning bitter on her tongue.

"You were only a child."

"Not the second time," Namaari confessed with a pained expression. The tightness of her knuckles threatened to shatter the cup in her grasp.

He reached for the sword and she straightened at the gesture. The sword matched the one on her other hip. Beautifully balanced, and a lot lighter than what he was accustomed to, he held it respectfully in both of his palms.

“To hate and blame is the easy path. The hardest thing is change and forgiveness.” Namaari’s eyes widened in surprise when he handed the sword back to her. She took it instinctively, a frown pulling the corners of her mouth down.

“Princess Namaari, the punishment you seek will not be carried out by me.”

“I don’t understand,” Namaari protested.

“You know what I see when I look at you?” Benja’s gentle expression crinkled his eyes. The look on her face made it clear she expected insults and then some. “Someone who understands better than most the consequences of their actions. Of how important it is to our people that we come together or we’d fall apart. When I look at you I see hope.”

“Hope?” Namaari tilted her head as if the concept eluded her.

“Hope that the future of Kumandra will be safe in the hands of someone who changed, and grew. Kumandra was a dream of mine, one I realized might have been a naive one that night,” he admitted. “The real work comes now, and we need examples like you to inspire hope in others and lead.”

Namaari opened her mouth to say something but she merely looked down into her reflection on the sword instead, eyes growing wetter. He could see her cheek jump from her gritting teeth and he reached out to lightly grasp her shoulder.

“That is what dragons do,” he made sure to look into her eyes reassuringly. “They inspire light in humans to be better, and in turn, that light spreads to others. I will not extinguish the light growing in you, Princess.”

At that moment, the Fang warrior simply looked like a little girl again, barely holding in her overwhelming emotions. “But how will I atone for my mistakes?” Namaari whispered, lost.

Benja squeezed her burdened shoulder before leaning back, finding his tea grew cold. “My daughter has already passed judgment on you, and I trust her.” His pleasant smile turned into a sly grin. “And something tells me she would not be too happy if she found out you came to me for your punishment.”

At that, Princess Namaari finally made a sound of amusement and her gaze grew a little warmer at the thought. “I suspect not.” The sword was fastened back to her hip and her shoulders did not look as heavy as they did when she approached him. Hands forming a circle, she bowed towards the Chief of Heart and muttered a shy thanks.

The second time Chief Benja met Princess Namaari, her hand rested on her blade’s hilt as they stared each other down.

“I think you have some explaining to do, Princess Namaari.” His grin was sharp, particularly enjoying this. She did not look as amused as he did.

“I’m sorry, Chief Benja,” Namaari’s grip grew white-knuckled but her resolve flashed in her eyes. “But... I’m in love with your daughter,” she said it like it was her greatest sin to date. A sin she looked ready to die for.

Earlier that day as Benja was taking a stroll through Heart’s gardens in a rare moment to himself, he stumbled across quite the sight. He spotted his daughter in an intimate embrace with the princess of Fang. He was surprised but managed to not make a noise, slowly backing up to allow them privacy. However, before he could slip away, he locked eyes with Namaari over Raya’s shoulder. He might’ve laughed at the size her eyes grew in panic, but he was already gone. He felt glad that his daughter was letting others into her heart, even as he tried to push the image from his mind.

The princess evidently did not forget, charging up towards his sanctum with determined steps.

“I know you’ll want my head for daring to overstep my welcome in your home. But I’m serious about her and I don’t care if you doubt my intentions. I won’t ever back down again when it comes to her!” she declared fiercely.

Benja finally broke character when a laugh escaped him and he gave into it. Namaari was visibly confused that Raya’s father wasn’t trying to strangle her right now as he doubled over laughing. It took a few seconds for him to calm down, facing the young woman while wiping a tear from his eye.

“Have you told Raya that you love her?” he asked with genuine curiosity. Namaari’s demeanor quickly changed, from ready for a fight, to flushed and stammering.

“I- no. Not yet.”

A few stray chuckles were still escaping him as he moved towards his weapons chest. “You should. And all that other stuff you just said.”

“You’re… not angry with me?” the other woman sounded surprised. He perused through his collection in an unhurried fashion.

“I’ve told you before that I trust my daughter’s judgment.” He selected one of his new swords made for him after his daughter inherited his last one. “Though there was always one thing that bothered me.”

Namaari brought her guard up again at those words, taking a fighting stance once Benja made a few test swings with his new sword. “What would that be?”

“Raya once told me you were the most skilled fighter she’s ever faced.” His shoulders popped as he rolled them, loosening his muscles. “It’s been a while since I’ve had a proper challenge besides my daughter, and I’d like to remind her who the fiercest warrior in her life is,” he said with a confident grin.

Namaari visibly gulped but she squared up, drawing her dual-wielded swords to face him. And he felt proud of the fire he saw in her, glad that his daughter chose someone who was not only willing to die for her but to live for her.

The next time Chief Benja and Princess Namaari met in secret, thankfully there were no blades involved. They were sipping tea together in companionable silence, though the Heart Chief could tell the woman was nervous about something.

It wasn’t often she was nervous anymore. Over the years she’s grown to be a capable and charismatic leader, accepting the love that was given to her and giving love in return. Intricate Visayan tattoos spread over her arms and shoulders highlighting the assured way she carried her burdens. Her hair, once asymmetrical, was evenly shorn on both sides of her head, with the hair on top braided down the center. (Raya had told him in her smuggest tone that Namaari mimicked women she admired, even while Raya stared at her beloved from across the room with her dopiest grin. They were so in love Benja had to laugh at their expense.)

“Jade for your thoughts,” he nudged before she lost herself in her thoughts.

She put her cup down and cleared her throat. “Chief Benja,” she started before he waved at her formalness.

“That's Benja to you,” he reminded her not for the first time.

“Chief Benja,” she stubbornly asserted with a smirk. He smirked back. “You’ve always been kind to me. More than I deserved at times, and I have nothing but respect for you.” She took a deep breath, maintaining eye contact with him. “It would be the greatest honor of my life if you extended another kindness and allowed me your daughter’s hand in marriage.”

Benja regarded her, feeling misty-eyed and bursting with sentiments. His little girls have grown up so fast.

Namaari continued, growing nervous at his silence once more. “In return, I can offer fifty serlot kittens, copies of Fang’s most sacred dragon scrolls, and as much gold and metal every cart in Fang can hold, as well as-” Benja cut her off with a deep laugh and a hand on her shoulder.

“Does Raya know you’re here?” he inquired with a raised brow. This time, she matched his smile.

“She does, actually,” Namaari tilted her head knowingly towards the door, where they promptly heard a muted curse and feet hurriedly walking away at being caught. They shared a chuckle at Raya’s antics.

“Namaari,” Benja’s voice dripped with pride. “There is no one else in Kumandra I trust more with my daughter’s heart.” Namaari’s eyes widened at his words. Even after all these years of fighting for approval, she was still surprised when it was imparted to her. “You have my blessing.” He raised his glass in a toast to them. “I’m only surprised it took you so long to ask!”

Namaari was as relieved and light as he’s ever seen her, glowing from the inside out. “For a long time, I didn’t feel worthy of her. I still don’t sometimes, but…” She placed a hand over her heart. “She still wants me, and I think that’s finally enough.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” Benja approved warmly. He rubbed his beard suddenly as a thought occurred to him. “Oh, because I suspect you’ve been dying to hear me say this,” Benja’s expression went from overjoyed to deadly serious in the span of a breath. “If you hurt my daughter I’ll kill you.”

Namaari was surprised for a moment before she smiled gratefully. “Thank you. I wouldn’t have it any other way.” They clinked their cups together in agreement.

[mistymorningdewdr0p]

The Little Things You Keep Hidden From Me

~~~(this is a long one so bear with me! using she/they pronouns for namaari btw!)~~~

namaari likes things—she really really does! she just, well, never really knows where to put their stuff, just shoving it into a basket to get it out of sight...they had never really thought of it as a problem, just something that was obvious since she was so busy with all of her royal duties, but the longer she’s around raya the more they realize something might be up.

when raya and her start dating, they naturally begin to spend more time at each other’s homes, more specifically in each other’s rooms. the third time raya spends the night in fang since they’ve become official, she finally asks namaari just why her room is so incredibly bare, claiming it looks more like a spare room in a random inn rather than a living space. namaari is actually stumped by this question, answering that “she’s just too busy to put any posters up or little figurines out.” raya doesnt believe it though, she can tell there’s something else by the quirk in namaari’s brow that the fang princess does often without even realizing. nevertheless, raya let’s it go and cuddles deeper into her girlfriends neck, taking a mental note to bring it up when they’re both more awake.

the next time raya brings it up, however, is when the girls are sparring together to blow off some steam. namaari had already been slightly agitated from an argument with her mother so it probably wasn’t the best for raya to bring up right then. despite that, the princess of heart had tried to play it off in a joking manner, snickering a bit as she told the other princess that they should travel to talon sometime to pick up decorations so namaari can stop having such a “bare ass room”. the kick to the gut raya received immediately notified her that it was definitely a bad time, especially as she moaned on the ground in pain as namaari stormed off. despite it only taking them two days to reconcile after that, raya promised she wouldn’t bring it up again, even though namaari still hadn’t told her why the question bothered them so bad.

even though raya had said she wouldn’t bring up the issue again, she began to rethink after a short talk with sisu about the matter. the dragon had brought up a very good point: “why not just add things here and there and see how namaari reacts? that way nothing is permanent and namaari wouldn’t have to try and put her feelings into words, just remove what they didn’t want.”raya didn’t have the best feeling about this but she sensed that this issue was more than it seemed and that it needed to be explored so she took sisu up on her offer and put the plan into effect on her following trips to fang. she’d place a poster by namaari’s bed or a small dragon carved of trees from spine on the desk one day and place a plant or a book by the door the next. the first two items disappeared within the hour of them being up and the second two held out for a day. raya tried this again two more times and the same pattern followed. she was now missing a poster, the wood carving, the book, a throw pillow, a small teddy bear, and a plant—this only concerned her more as namaari hadn’t brought any of it up. just as raya was starting to give up on this experiment, a breakthrough moment happened.

it had been a exhaustingly long day of meetings and diplomatic hearings and all the two princesses wanted to do was sleep. they hung out on namaari’s bed, cuddling as they chatted with sisu who was perched on the windowsill before namaari decided she was going to shower. sisu said goodbye and raya started gathering her own belongings from her bag for bed. normally she’d join her girlfriend in the shower but they were both feeling much too sluggish for that kind of shower at the moment.

as raya was taking off her jewelry, one of her arm bands rolled off the edge of the bed and under the closet door on the other side of the room. she sighed in exasperation but got up to retrieve it nonetheless. when she opened the closet door and reached in to grab her jewelry, she was surprised to see a large basket placed in the middle of the chamber among her girlfriend’s clothes. she knew she should probably ask namaari if it was ok to open it but something in her gut was screaming at her to peak inside, so she looked behind her to make sure no one had entered the room without her knowing and moved to open the basket, face contorting in confusion when she saw what was in it.

in front of her sat all of the objects that she had placed in the room, all situated in such a way so that nothing was broken or squashed. raya also noticed some other objects like books and pages of artwork hidden under the materials she had lost. it took her only a moment to sigh sadly and put the lid back onto the basket. she made her way back to the bed and sat on it, head in her hands as she waited for namaari to return.

“i can’t believe how much dirt can stick to you when you sweat, it’s absolutely disgust-“ namaari said as she walked back into the room, now in her night clothes.

“raya? what’s wrong, why do you look so sad?” The fang princess said, closing the door behind them with a worried expression.

raya was silent for a moment before exhaling and standing up from the bed, walking over to her girlfriend and taking both of their hands in her own.

“when i was getting my stuff together for my shower, one of my arm bands fell off the bed and rolled under the closet door. i saw the basket, maari.” raya said, looking down at their conjoined hands.

“you didn’t open it, did you?” namaari said, voice clearly wavering as her eyebrows creased together.

“you know i had to. it didn’t feel right...” raya replied sadly.

“well it doesn’t mean anything, it’s just a stupid basket.” namaari huffed, pulling her hands away from raya and walking away from her and towards the window, back to their girlfriend.

“that’s not true namaari. you and i both know what that basket is for.” raya could tell namaari was getting upset, their shoulders were tensing and her fists were squeezed into balls.

“i said it was nothing. drop it raya.” namaari warned, chest heaving as she started to get worked up.

“i will not drop it! why didn’t you tell me that you don’t keep any of your personal items out because you’re afraid you’ll have to flee fang one day and don’t want to risk leaving them behind?!” raya shouted, temper fully exploding.

to anyone else, that may seem like a ridiculous stretch, but raya knew better. she knew this is what namaari had done because she had done the same thing all her years of searching for sisu. since she had no time to gather her belongings the day the dragon gem broke, the only mementos from home she had left were the clothes and accessories on her body, tuktuk, and her father’s sword. for years as she traveled she never once took them out of her bag, in fear that she’d be ambushed and would have to outrun bandits or druun. she longed to be able to take out her clothes she was wearing that day and hold them close to her chest, focusing on how beautiful that morning had been with her father still in her life, but she was more terrified of losing them in the event she had to run for her life.

the basket was large but also made out of a very light material that was abundant in fang. the handles were designed to not pinch or strain the hands and the bottom was weaved in such a way that running with it would not be too much of a hinderance. raya immediately knew that this basket was bought for a specific purpose and the person who bought it hadn’t even realized how heartbreaking the situation was.

“so what?! i just want to be prepared, get off my case about it!” namaari shouted back, turning to face raya with a deep scowl on her face.

“namaari, being prepared is packing a bag with the essentials for survival! maybe even some extra clothes that mean a lot to you, this is not prepared! this is paranoid!” raya shouted, gesturing around the bare room with flailing arms.

“i am not fucking paranoid! who knows what could happen tomorrow?! who knows who i could lose at any moment in my life! just because i want to keep my things at the ready does not mean i am paranoid, it means i’m smart, don’t be jealous because you were too dumb to think of it!” namaari all but roared at their girlfriend.

they both froze for a moment, just looking at each other in a huff as they took in namaari’s words.

“i’m smart enough to know when someone is going through something and i’m smart enough to know that i need to step in to help. but yeah, guess i’m the fucking idiot for trying to check on you, my own girlfriend. my bad, though, i’ll try to be less dumb next time, yeah?” raya said, face stone cold as she grabbed her coat and left the room, leaving namaari with tears streaming down her face behind her.

~~~

namaari absolutely hates crying. not because they feel like they don’t have the right to do it, but because once she starts, she can rarely ever stop. she bottles up so much and when that bottle explodes every negative emotion she’s had just comes gushing out. they cried and cried, head feeling like it was going to split as she sobbed into her hands. they hadn’t meant to hurt raya’s feelings, they were just so incredibly ashamed their fears had gotten to them so badly. it took her an hour for the tears to stop falling from her eyes and one hour after that to fully compose herself enough to stand up from where she had sunk to the ground. they walked over on shaky legs to their closet and opened it, pulling out the basket and dumping the contents out onto the bed. she looked over the objects, finally understanding it had been raya who had placed them all in her room out of care and not her mother to spite her, the thought only making her want to cry again. she shoved it down and kept looking, eyes finally landing on the bear plushy that had rolled farther down her bed. she picked it up and sighed, holding it close to her chest as she bit back more tears.

“i hate it when you two fight.” sisu said solemly from the windowsill, voice soft but still startling namaari on accident.

“you and me both.” namaari responded, voice weak from their sobbing.

“she’s ready for you, you know.” the dragon said, making her way into the room to stand beside the fang princess.

“i know. it just, continues to shock me just how much she trusts i’ll always come back to her. i don’t think anyone but my mother has fought for me that hard.” namaari said, toying with the plush in her hands.

“i don’t think she’s ever wanted to fight for anyone as much as she fights for you, other than her father.” sisu replied, placing a hand on the human’s shoulder.

“i really messed up, sisu. i feel awful.” namaari said, leaning into the touch.

“nows your chance to make it right then, come on, she’s waiting.” sisu said, waiting for the princess’ consent before grabbing her by the waist and flying them out the window.

~~~

raya absolutely hated being angry. the feeling burned like thousands of fire ants under her skin that were crawling through her nerves and stinging at her body to get out. she just wanted to help namaari! that’s all. she had been exactly where the fang princesses had and it was eating her alive that she felt like namaari wasn’t trusting her.

after leaving namaari’s room she had managed to make it to the water front uninterrupted in an angry haze before sisu stopped her.

“woah, woah, woah, hold it right there, grumpy!” sisu said, stopping right in front of the heart princess.

“what’s with the frown?! did namaari kick you out again because you snore?” sisu said, completely oblivious to the fact raya was deeply upset by this.

“no sisu and i don’t want to fucking talk about it right now, move.” raya said harshly, pushing passed the dragon and continuing her stomping.

sisu was back in front of her in seconds, face now contorted in a scowl as she towered over the princess from heart. they had talked about how much sisu hated when people cursed at her, even if it was all light hearted, and it seemed like raya had forgotten and needed to be reminded.

“don’t talk to me like that. it’s disrespectful, princess.” the dragon all but spat at the human.

rayas eyes went wide, weak inhale filling her lungs as she understood what the dragon was saying. after a moment of them staring at each other, raya sighed, hands pressing onto her eyes as she started to tear up.

“you’re right. i’m sorry. i just—god i’m just so angry!” raya said, tears falling freely from her eyes at this point as she sunk to the ground. they were at the water front now, sitting on the edge of where the boats would dock.

“what happened?” sisu asked, gently wrapping her arms around her friend.

“namaari and i got into a fight about all of the missing stuff. i don’t know why i hadn’t put two and two together but she was hiding it in a basket in her closet because they were afraid they’d have to run from fang.” raya said, leaning into the dragon’s touch.

“why would they still be afraid? the druun are gone now.” sisu asked, face pulled into a worried expression.

“i would’ve asked them but they got defensive when i told them about the basket and you know when she gets defensive she starts acting like a jerk.” raya said, wiping her tears as they fell.

“sounds like someone else i know...”sisu said, smile clearly present in her voice.

raya laughed softly, sisu’s comment cheering her up slightly. she sighed and pulled away from the dragon, pushing her hair out of her face.

“i don’t want her to be afraid that they’ll come back. we’ve only talked about them a little bit i know she also has nightmares about it and it keeps her awake when i’m not with her. i just didn’t expect them to be so fearful that they refuse to keep anything permanent up in their room because they don’t think they’ll be able to take their belongings with them in case they have to flee.” raya said, now looking down at her hands.

“i know you just want to help but getting over stuff like that isn’t always easy, especially when you think you’re moving forward and it seems like ten things push you back. i know i’m not the best at relationship advice but maybe try letting her talk at you rather than with you.” sisu said.

“like how?” raya asked.

“let her get everything out: the nightmares, the objects and what they mean to them, all that stuff. no arguing and little to no commentary. just free talk. through that you might understand the underlying cause of all of this paranoia. which i’m also guessing you made her feel bad for so you should apologize for that asap.” sisu replied.

“you’re right, i know you are, it’s just—hard. i’ve never felt like this before, so in love with someone who has their own stuff to work through too, and i don’t want to mess it up because she deserves happiness.” raya said, looking up from her hands and at the dragon by her side, who she was surprised to see was wearing an expression of absolute surprise at what she had said.

“what? why are you so surprised? was it something i said?” Raya began—in that very moment realizing it was something she said. she covered her mouth with both hands and matched sisu’s wide eyes.

“raya, you said the L word.” sisu whispered.

“oh my god i said the L word.” raya echoed.

“sisu—i...” raya tried to speak but the words were caught in her throat. she had really said it out loud that she was in love with namaari, like fully and deeply in love with her and it was so overwhelming she began to cry again.

“i’m so proud of you, girl! admitting your in love is a big step. i’m so happy for you.” sisu said, pulling raya into a hug that was beating the edge of way too tight for a human and not tight enough for raya.

“thank you, sisu, you’re an incredible friend.” raya smiled.

“yeah, i know. i rock!” sisu chuckled, pulling away and getting up from where she had been sitting.

“now, i’m going to go get that other grumpy princess and you two are going to talk some things out, ok?” sisu said.

“ok, tell her i’m ready for her.” raya said, smiling as sisu sprang into the sky and glided to the palace.

~~~

even though it would seem like namaari would be afraid of heights, it was actually quite the opposite. they loved being in high places and looking out at the world around them. soaring through the air with a dragon, let alone the sisudatu, was not something she ever thought she’d do in her life—now? they wouldn’t have it any other way.

“this is your stop, your majesty. oh! and be on your best behavior or i’ll drop you in the ocean when i come back.” Sisu said, placing namaari on the ground next to raya.

“and that goes for both of you! best. behavior.” sisu added before flying off and leaving them alone.

both princesses sat in silence for a moment, both not entirely sure where to start.

“look, maari, i’m—“ raya began.

“No!” namaari countered, effectively cutting Raya off.

“you always take the first step. i don’t want you to think that i won’t meet you there. if it’s ok, i’d like to go first.” namaari said, sitting down next to the heart princess.

“ok, go for it, i’m here to listen.” raya replied.

“i’m really sorry for how i reacted. I didnt mean to hurt your feelings or imply you’re not intelligent. I was so ashamed that i let my fears get the best of me that i started acting like a...” Namaari began.

“A jerk?” Raya asked, mouth slightly quirked up at the corner

“A bitch.” Namaari smiled softly.

“I should’ve listened to what you were trying to tell me. I was being paranoid when i should’ve just toughened up.” Namaari finished.

Raya sighed and took her girlfriend’s hand that wasn’t holding onto the little bear.

“Don’t say that. You are not a bad person for being paranoid and it’s not so easy to just “toughen up” when it comes to trauma. I’m so sorry I made you feel that way, i was so wrong for that, maari. And i’m also sorry for opening the basket without your permission.” Raya confessed, making good on her agreement with sisu to apologize for making Namaari feel less than because of her fear.

“thank you, that means a lot to me, raya. I just dont want to start thinking that the druun will never return only to be proven wrong if they do, it makes me feel stupid and like i should’ve known better than to expect better. the nightmares and the second guessing and the stress of being alone on a lot of open land with no water source...it’s all so hard to deal with sometimes. but i think i’m realizing the more i push it down the worse it gets.” Namaari confessed.

“as much as i wish i knew what i could do to make it hurt you less, I don’t think i’ll ever fully understand how you’re feeling, even if our situations used to be similar—so i’m gonna work really hard to prove to you that you can always come to me and get comfort, even if i don’t always know what it’s like. i guess i was just feeding my own fear that you didn’t trust me instead of realizing you were so afraid because you do trust me.” raya explained, squeezing her girlfriend’s hand tighter.

“i dont want to lose you, not like i did before.” namaari said, unshed tears making their eyes gloss over as they squeezed raya’s hand tightly.

they both knew they were talking about when raya turned to stone, since namaari was uncertain if putting the pieces back together was going to work at all—if they hadn’t that would mean raya would be gone forever.

“i promise you i’m not going anywhere. i love you far too much to not fight for you.” the heart princess said, placing her hand softly on namaari’s cheek to use her thumb and brush away a stray tear.

“please never stop loving me.” namaari pleaded, tears rolling down her cheeks now.

“i wouldnt dream of it, dep la.” raya said, pulling the fang princess in for a long overdue make up kiss. she firmly pressed her lips to namaari’s as she pulled the princess’s face towards her, love confession making her needy. though she wanted to savor namaari (thanks to her newfound energy of course), she knew that this kiss was all they needed right now.

“if you want, we can start taking one thing out from the basket at a time,” Raya said as she broke the kiss, “i think we should start with the plant since it hasn’t had water since i got it and is probably dead.”

namaari chucked at this, “of course you’d get me a thirsty, half-dead plant to slip into my room. you’re a menace.”

“maybe,” raya began, breaking her sentence up by pressing another kiss to namaari’s soft lips with a smile, “but i’m your menace so you can’t get mad.”

“i love you, dep la.” namaari said, leaning over with the bear still clutched in their hands to rest their head on raya’s shoulder.

“and i love you, princess.” raya echoed, placing an arm around her girlfriend to pull her closer as they looked out at the water as the moonlight glistened on it.

[sapphic-yearning-lesbian]

Fight (RATLD-October Prompt)

I will upload it to A03 eventually.

Warnings: Inappropriate language, infidelity, and mention of blood.

Lol, it's not what you think ;) Just keep reading!

Raya was facedown on her bed. Her legs spread out, her face buried in a pillow held by her hands. Her tears were so harsh that her body trembled with each sob. 

She couldn't believe it.

Namaari had betrayed her, severing the trust they'd spent so long building. 

Raya's eyes stung from crying while her chest began to throb, resulting from her violent sobs. Her body felt numb, only her mind wide awake, reminding her of why she was crying.

Nothing and no one can prepare you for what Raya witnessed, her lips quivering into the pillow as her mind showed her snapshots of Namaari's infidelity. Her heart was shattered, the pain too immense to describe in words.

Amongst her loud sobs, Raya didn't hear Namaari knock; Who had heard Raya crying long before she reached her bedroom. 

Namaari waited a few seconds after knocking, but she was worried. She had rarely seen Raya cry, and she certainly had never heard her sob like this. Knowing this information, Namaari tried to prepare herself for an unpleasant scene, yet she still found the devastating sight in front of her, shattering as she opened the door.

Raya's tears opened up her nostrils, making her begin to sniffle with each sob--Out of almost nowhere, Raya felt someone squeeze the back of her calf. She reacts by lifting her leg hitting the person who snuck up on her.

No sooner had Namaari sat at the edge of the bed and placed her hand on Raya's calf, had Raya's leg come up, hitting her right in the nose. The pain was excruciating. The hand, once gripping Raya's leg, had shot up to her nose. "OWW." She exclaimed as she felt warm liquid dripping down her nose to the palm of her hand—the taste of iron becoming prominent in her mouth.

Raya quickly jumps up, sitting on the bed while still clutching her pillow. What she saw was an angering but saddening scene. Her unfaithful girlfriend's eyes were wide in shook, blood dripping down her chin as she propelled herself up running to her bathroom.

Raya hadn't noticed her tears stop as a new feeling swirled in the pit of her stomach. 

How dare she show up after what she did?

How could Namaari dare comfort her when she was the reason she had come undone?

So as Raya sat in her bed waiting for Namaari to come back. Her fingers grasped the pillow firmly. Raya acknowledged that she could have easily broken through the fabric, possibly down to her skin, if she had long nails. 

Yet she was fuming, and she was ready to attack the person who caused it. Namaari!

Once Namaari was confident her nose stopped bleeding, she stuffed a tampon into her nostril. She knew she looked ridiculous, but hopefully, it would make Raya laugh and possibly forget what was causing her so much hurt.

Namaari made sure to wipe off all the blood from the remainder of her face with warm water before walking back into the bedroom. She was expecting to see Raya still quietly crying, yet she walked into the opposite.

Raya's eyes were glaring at her, brows knitted. At that moment, Namaari knew she had fucked up somehow, but she just couldn't figure out how! She hadn't forgotten their anniversary of when they started dating...Then again, today, seven years ago, was the day they first met, and Namaari had almost forgotten entirely. 

After recalling this information, Namaari smiled widely, opening her arms to run and engulf Raya into a hug. Yet as she approached the other, she felt a pillow hit her face.

Namaari froze, trying to wrap her head around why Raya thought it was necessary to throw a pillow at her after she had nearly broken her nose. And just as she was about to say something, Raya reached for another pillow throwing it at her face again. This time the corner of the pillow stabbing her eyes ball "WHAT THE FUCK RAYA?" 

"BINTURI" Raya yelled back at her. 

Namaari shook her head, trying to readjust her blurry vision: No sooner had her vision returned did Raya reach for another pillow, throwing it; this time, Namaari caught it before it hit her face.

Namaari lowered the pillow to her chest, holding it there. "I'm sorry I forgot." She admitted as she pouted, trying to gain sympathy from the other, hoping that could ease the tension in the air. She had no idea what had caused it, but Namaari could feel it.

Raya pressed her lips together roughly before huffing. "You forgot? YOU FORGOT?" Raya reached for her last pillow before flinging it across the room to Namaari, who blocked it with the buffer in her hands.

"I know! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to forget the anniversary of when we first meet!" Namaari pleaded, "I promise I'll make it up with plenty of kisses and the date of your choosing."

Namaari studied Raya's face, she was still angry, but she was now confused. One of her eyebrows bobbing up, showing Namaari she had forgotten their anniversary too. So then, why is she mad?

"That's not why I'm mad," Raya almost whispered as her anger shifted back to sadness. Her hands coming up to her face, where she stared at her shaking palms. "You promised you'd never break my heart, yet you went and did it."

Namaari was confused, her eyebrows going up, her eyes widening while her mouth was slightly agape. She had no idea what she could have done that was possibly bad enough to make Raya sob so intensely before becoming agitated with her. "What?"

Raya's sight left the palm of her hands as her eyes looked up at  Namaari's; tears started to pool. "You cheated."

Namaari was distraught seeing Raya so upset, but she couldn't help but chuckle. She hadn't cheated! At least not in the physical world, apparently she had in Raya's dream. Yet the chuckle was wrong on her part as Raya burst out into tears, her head falling onto her hands.

No quicker had the scene escalated had Namaari dropped the pillow running towards the bed, quickly embracing Raya into her arms.

Raya nuzzling her head into Namaari's shoulder as Namaari ran one hand through her hair as the other lightly traveled up and down her back. "It's...not..funny!" She sniffed into the other, "You've deeply... wounded me."

Namaari looked down at Raya, who was sincere in her words. She could only nod, as internally, she was battling not to laugh. "Dep La, it was just a dream! I promise I would never do that to you in real life."

---

30 minutes later

Raya continued to cry as Namaari constantly reassured her that she would never do that in the psychical plane: Luckily, after Namaari's coaxing, Raya had finally stopped crying.

Raya pulled away from Namaari's grasp as a slight grin painted her lips, seeing the appearance of the other. Her girlfriend looked amess; her right eye was slightly puffed from the pillow, hitting her eyeball. Her hair was astray, and her nose was starting to bruise. But what caused her to grin was the tampon plugging the right nostril. "You look stupid," she chuckled as she brought her hand up to Namaari's right cheek, gently running her thump across it.

Namaari leaned her face into Raya's touch before the other jerked her hand away, grabbing the string of the tampon yanking it out. Once again, her eyes widened as the sudden jerk caused a painful sting.

Raya yelped as Namaai's nose began to bleed once again. It probably was a stupid idea to do that, yet the string was taunting her to pull it; she couldn't resist. Yet instantly regretted this choice as Namaari's clothes, her clothes, and her bedsheets were decorated with splotches of fresh blood.

Namaari sighed as she brought her hand back up to her nose, slightly glaring at the other. She watched as Raya giggled at her before rolling her own eyes, standing up to go and clean herself off once again.

Once she had made it to the doorframe of the bathroom, she turned to look at Raya, "So as you forgot our anniversary and made my nose bleed twice: I want all the kisses, some passionate yet slightly untamed sex, and a date of my choosing to make up for it!"

Raya grinned as she nodded. "Whatever you say, unfaithful binturi!" 

[smokeybrand]

Smokey brand Movie Reviews: Bring the Heat

Finally had the opportunity to sit down and check out Raya and the Last Dragon. Disney Animation is kind of hit and miss when it comes to their new flicks and this incredibly transparent push for diversity profits has had mixed results for me. I enjoyed Tangled and Soul for what they were, and Zootopia was an excellent look at prejudice, but Moana was basically just Pacific Islander Pocahontas and the less said about the Frozen franchise, the better. I know all of this focus on diversity coming out of the Mouse House is strictly performative but it’s still dope seeing other cultures represented by the biggest studio in the land, even if that doesn’t translate so well to live action leading roles. Raya is the newest attempt by Disney to cash out by presenting or, as my more cynical self would say, pandering, to the Southeast Asian markets. Let’s see how well they pulled this sh*t off

The Good

This movie is gorgeous. Raya is easily the most beautiful film out of the Mouse House in a while. It definitely gives Soul a run for that tile and kind of sh*ts all over Frozen. That stands to reason considering it’s been a few years since the last Elsa outing, even though Sisu is just Dragon Elsa. Disney got that anime sameface problem.

Kind of an addendum to the previous note, Raya is beautifully animated. The facial movements, that audio sync, the f*cking hair, those action scenes; All of it is exquisite! I'm not going to say it can give Pixar a run for their money when they are a the top of their game, no CG animation company can, but Raya is definitely a contender.

The world of Kumandra is an interesting one with a truly unique feel, even if it’s kind of a homogeneous, Asian, conglomerate. I would have liked to see more of a focus on a specific Asian culture that doesn’t necessarily get the spotlight as often as China or Japan. Something like Thai, Hmong, Filipino, or Vietnamese would have been dope but i guess Kumandra had to hit all the bases to make all of the money. I dunno, it’s fine that there is Asian representation but creating a fictitious catch-all instead of actually building on something comes across as real tone deaf and a little disingenuous.

I like that there’s no singing in this thing. I’m not a fan of musicals so when the rare Disney animation comes through and it's not one, i tend to pay closer attention. That's probably why i love Atlantis so much. Also Maleficent but that's more because I just genuinely love the character of  Maleficent. All that said...

What little music we did get in this thing, was lovely. Like, it felt distinctly ethnic and fit the narrative perfectly. It went a long way to lend a bit of authenticity to a movie that is basically a soulless cash grab

These fight scenes are dope. Wonderfully telegraphed and visibly punishing, they’re great examples of choreography, especially considering how a lot of this is mocap. It’s a fine line between a fight and a dance but Raya traverses that gap with real aplomb.

Solid performances abound. I genuinely enjoy the vast majority of this cast and it's super-dope that it's almost all Asian actors in these parts. Sandra Oh, Izaac Wang, Daniel Dae Kim, Benedict Wong, Lucille Soong: This flicked is stacked with that Eastern excellence. It's a shame this thing didn't get a theatrical release. I'd be curious to see how a mass audience would have received this film if it was properly released into theaters, especially after witnessing how films like Paradise, Crazy Rich Asians, and The Farewell were so well received.

Sisu is adorable. I kind of love this little dragon scamp. She might be one of my favorite Disney characters in their library. Nora Lum does a great job giving Sisu life with her performance. The more I see, and hear, of this chick, the more I love her as an actor. Also, getting Awkwafina to voice the Water Dragon is not lost on me. I See you, Disney.

I really like Namaari, too. Gemma Chan does an exceptional job making her compelling. I don't really agree with her motivations but I understand them. Some of that has to be credited to the writing but Chan's performance goes a long way to making her believable. Seriously, I thought  Namaari was a much better protagonist than Raya and that has everything to do with Chan

The Meh

Kelly Marie Tran was a little dry for me as Raya. Like, she was good, don't misunderstand, but the character of Raya, as written, was kind of an idiot? Tran is excellent in the role as a performer, but Raya, herself, is real hard to identify with. She was scripted as the low energy straight man to Awkwafina's uber-kinetic Sisu, and to that end, Tran captures the character perfectly, she just comes across as kind of a dumbass. Her chemistry with Awkwafina, though, goes a long way to making Raya tolerable.

The Bad

It's kind of ridiculous to me that this entire film can be solved with honest communication. The fact that Sisu blatantly points that out means this movie is aware of it. Sh*t's kind of absurd but that might be the point. This thing is made for kids so I understand it can't be super nuanced with it's themes but I can kind of see this being a sticking point for other people.

The pacing is a little wonky. It feels really start-and-stop. Like, it took me this long to finish this flick because it was so slow in the beginning and then stalls kind of partway through, and then again toward the end. It's definitely a contradictory thing to say because this movie really moves overall. Like, it's totally a brisk watch but, at times, stalls to a near stop.

Now, I found Sisu adorable but I'm a fan of Spider-Man. He's super quippy, just like her, so that was right in my wheelhouse. However, I can totally see people frustrated with her character. She has the potential to be incredibly annoying to some.

Could have done without the extra supporting characters. In a lot of ways, this movie felt like a video game where you traverse several levels, acquiring mcguffins, picking up party members, all for the ultimate goal of defeating a powerful enemy force. And, just like video games, some supporting characters are better than others. I liked Boun, though. He was kind of hilarious.

The Verdict

Finishing Raya and the Last Dragon after, like, six false-starts, felt like an accomplishment. Turns out, it's a pretty good movie. Raya does start a little slower than i would like, and can definitely stumble in pacing at times, but it's still pretty fun to watch. The performances re strong, the characters are endearing, an the world is rich with intrigue. Awkwafina and Gemma Chan turn in some excellent performances and even Kelly Marie Tran does her best with what she was given, which wasn't much. Not going to sit here and claim it to be one of my favorites but it's better than i initially gave it credit for. Raya and the last Dragon has a ton of potential but I think Disney played it too safe and missed out on something great. Still, it's a fun watch that I think kids will enjoy. I mean, don't pay any extra loot for it but, if it's on Disney+ or if you wanna fly that Jolly Roger, it might be worth.

All that said, this sh*t feels a lot like the plot to Breath of the Wild, complete with kind of a Calamity Ganon as the principal conflict. I'm curious if anyone else got that same vibe.

[shy-peacock]

Namaari being surprisingly affectionate after the Druun and Raya is just like “oh this is really nice but why haven’t you left my side in three days” I think it’d be cute

Very short

Much fluff

Rated T??? I guess??? for kisses??? (Have I done this before?? maybe! but here's a no proof-read fluff)

"Is this okay?"

"You sure...you don't want me to leave?"

"I don't want to make you uncomfortable.."

"Namaari!" Raya yells, laughing, making a mental note the moment her voice hits the air and Namaari flinches. Naturally drawing back only for Raya to tug her back and put those hesitant hands of hers back around her body, back into the hug they were sharing, in the bed they had been laying in for over an hour now.

"I already told you, I want you here." she said, softer now, heart blooming when she saw that insecure look of Namaari's turn to joy. A quiet joy, but joy nonetheless, her movements slow and steady as she comes closer to Raya now and allows herself to rest easily against her body. Hugging her softly, cuddling close enough that she can feel her heart beating inside her chest and her breathing come out easy.

Months ago, Raya would have never expected this to happen. Here in bed, with her so-called enemy, cuddling close while they took a break like the new lovers that they were.

I mean-...lovers might be a bit extreme.

Dating?

Girlfriends?

Happy???

Well-...whatever it was, Raya certainly wouldn't have expected this to come out the way it had a few months back when the Druuns were officially defeated and sent back to whatever hell they came from. Raya and Namaari had talked out all the negatives of their past, forgiven and had become friends even with a promise to continue their newfound bond not only for the good of Kumandra but for one another. The two remembering the swiftness of their friendship as children, the realness of it that surpassed the awful events that came to be at the end of that day. Acknowledging the mistakes that were made as children, choosing to be better as adults.

After that, Namaari rarely left Raya's side. Putting her words into actions, making good on her promise to right the wrongs of the past. An affectionate side of her rising as the weeks passed, showing Raya a side of her that she had never seen before. Even Raya herself had behaved in a way that she never knew she could before. Mimicking-..no- displaying just as much affection as Namaari did her. The feelings just bursting forth, unable to contain it now that it was out.

At least Raya couldn't help it, being the more forward of the two.

Namaari still struggled at times, especially when they were close like this. Her head dipping, resting in the crook of Raya's neck as she held her close. Breathing her in, enjoying the silence until-

"Can I-.." Namaari began, breaking the silence only to fill it once again with nothing.

"Can...you?" Raya asked, amused.

"Can..I kiss you.."

Well-...so much for Raya being the forward one. The Princess of Heart feeling her face burn hot at the question, worsening when Namaari lifted to look into her eyes. Feeling embarrassed. Not by the idea of kissing Namaari-..but by the fact she...

"Why did you ask!?" Raya blurted out, covering her face then, knowing her face was as red as a tomato. Hiding her smile,

"Ah-...I-..uh..." Namaari fumbled, pressing her lips together tightly while her face mimicked Raya's in both color and awkward amusement, "I was worried you'd be upset with me.."

Raya brought her hands down, giving Namaari quite a look. Wanting to playfully scold her and tell her that of COURSE she could kiss her and she wouldn't be upset. Thrilled maybe? But never upset! However, she chose to sit up, taking her hand then to tuck Namaari's hair back behind her ear, and press a soft kiss onto her lips.

It was light.

It was playful.

Yet Raya couldn't deny the electric spark that shot through them both at the action. For no sooner had she shifted back, Namaari moved forward and returned her kiss back to her. Startling them both it seemed, that Namaari had done so, both hesitating before diving back in. Again...and again...and again, until Raya's heart felt like it was going to leap right out of her chest. Namaari drawing back, watching Raya as she took a steady breath in and out. Mind spinning, her body warming like she had never felt before.

Namaari tucked her lower lip, biting it as she looked at Raya, trying to gauge her reaction.

"Was that okay?"

Raya nodded, this time her voice being the one sounding so small. Excitement reducing her voice to this mere whisper. Her question, bringing a smile to both their lips.

"Can you do it again?"

[thedragonnerd]

Rayaari headcanon - let's go back to school with a rival teachers AU

(inspired by this lovely anon)

When it comes to science teachers - and indeed, teachers overall at the school - Miss Raya is one of the most popular. She's not much older than the oldest students themselves, full of a somewhat chaotic energy that keeps the classroom energized, and a willingness to blow things up in the name of science and education, no matter how much it exasperates Headmaster Dang Hai.

Miss Raya is also popular thanks to her legendary (at least amongst the students, although arguably also in the teachers' lounge) rivalry with the History teacher Miss Namaari, whose classroom sits opposite her own.

Miss Namaari is simultaneously feared and admired by the students. She rarely cracks a smile, and there are so many stories about how scary she can be when angry, that no-one tries to misbehave in her class. Despite this, she keeps classes interesting with her lesson plans, forever challenging her students and ensuring they are engaged enough to receive some of the highest marks in the school.

There are all sorts of rumours as to why both teachers seem to be in an endless rivalry, starting from the week they both began work at the school.

Some students believe it's because they are always in competition to win the "Teacher of the Year" and the "Best Department" trophies at the school's annual award shows, and are therefore trapped in a battle to see who can encourage their students for the best grades and feedback.

Others think that it's simply because they have very different views of the world. Between classes, when the students are shuffling to their next subject, it is common to see both teachers standing on guard beside their own classroom doors, arms crossed and glaring at each other from opposite sides of the hallway. Most of the time, this is accompanied by an ongoing debate of the day, where they argue with raised voices over the general noise of the students on a dizzying array of topics. There seems to be no coherent theme to their debates, but no doubt whatever they are discussing, they'll be on opposite sides of the argument.

The most believed, and perhaps most simplistic answer, is that Miss Namaari is simply and consistently annoyed by Miss Raya and her unusual ways of teaching, and in return, Raya thrives on annoying her further. At least once a week, and undoubtedly after one of her signature loud scientific experiments, the door to Raya’s classroom will bang open, and Miss Namaari will be peering inside with a glower on her face, saying ‘Yet again, Miss Heart, your classroom is being utterly disruptive to my students.’

Sisu however, has a very different theory as to what is going on between her two teachers. ‘Sexual tension,’ she says wisely, between mouthfuls of her lunch. Noi makes a disgusted sound next to her – at her eating habits or her theory, it isn’t clear. ‘Can’t be sexual tension,’ she refutes. ‘Firstly, because ew. And secondly, because Miss Raya is happily married.’ Sisu doesn’t have an argument for that second point – Miss Raya indeed does seem very in love with her wife.

It was something the students discovered early on in Raya’s time teaching at the school. She wears a small and simplistic silver band around her finger – not something that appears to be a wedding ring at all. But one day, a student makes a joke about her ‘husband’, causing Miss Raya to flush bright red. ‘Wife, actually,’ she mutters, and then continues on with the class as if nothing happened. But her smile in that moment lights up the room.

A while later, one of the braver students asks her about her wife, and the ring. It’s so unusual for them to meet an adult in a non-straight relationship, and there are many teenagers who hang onto her words curiously and hopefully as she explains the origins of the ring. ‘We were 18 and had no money,’ she explains with a faraway smile on her face. ‘She proposed anyway, because we didn’t want to wait. And this ring was all she could afford. She’s asked me several times if I want a new ring now we have money all these years later, but there’s no need to change perfection.’

Students are smart, and students are sneaky. They are quick to notice if they ask at the start of the lesson about Raya’s wife, even a quick ‘how is she?’, then Raya will be a lot happier and cheerier during class…leading to more chaos and excitement.

‘My wife made me watch an entire marathon of Star Trek,’ she says one day, with a bright smile, when they ask about her weekend.

‘She tried to make you all cookies, but accidentally set the oven on fire,’ she explains another day, when she comes in looking slightly tired and smelling faintly of smoke.

‘She beat me in sparring – it was a very impressive one-two kick-punch,’ she tells them another morning, when they notice a bruise on her face. The faraway look in her eye tells them that she is now thinking fondly of her sparring fight with her wife, a strange habit it seems to the teenagers, but clearly something Miss Raya enjoys.

One day, Miss Raya comes in looking extremely upset. Her wife is ill, and she’d much rather be home than teaching for the day. The students are almost as upset as she is – ‘Miss Raya’s wife’ has become a beloved figure to them, someone they’ve never met but feel as if they know anyway. They send her home with get well cards by the end of the day, and for the rest of the week, Miss Raya takes vacation days so she can play nurse.

‘Miss Namaari won’t know who to yell at today,’ Noi jokes, but Boun leans over his desk while shaking his head. ‘Miss Namaari’s class has a substitute also,’ he informs them. Sisu’s eyes narrow slightly. ‘Must be something going around,’ she says slowly.

The discovery comes several months later, and purely by accident. Sisu is on the other side of town to her usual haunt, searching for the perfect gift for Tong’s birthday, when she decides to get some caffeinated fuel for her shopping mission. She slips into the nearest café, lining up for her order before something out the corner of her eye catches her attention.

Miss Raya is here, sitting on one of the comfy couches and drinking coffee. Her clothes are casual, and her hair falls loosely around her face as she laughs loudly at whatever her companion has just said, leaning forward to lay a hand on the person’s knee. Sisu is just about to call out a greeting to her teacher, when she suddenly notices who exactly is with Miss Raya.

‘Come on, dep la,’ Miss Namaari says, standing up and then bending down again slightly to grasp Miss Raya’s hands and pull her up also. ‘Let’s go home.’ Miss Namaari wraps an arm around Miss Raya’s shoulder, kissing the side of her head softly, and Sisu, hiding behind the person in front of her in the queue, witnesses the same bright smile flash across her face as Miss Raya’s whenever she talks about her wife. Miss Raya’s nose crinkles in amusement, and then two women walk out of the café slowly, eyes only for each other.

The next day at school, Noi and Sisu are walking together towards Miss Raya’s classroom when they hear the unmistakable voices of their two teachers, bickering back and forth in yet another debate of the day. The bell rings loudly, making them hurry their footsteps so they aren’t late, but before they reach the door, Sisu sees a bright smile on Raya’s face as she winks to her debate partner across the hallway.

‘You know, you’re right,’ she whispers to Noi as they settle into their seats. ‘Can’t be sexual tension – Miss Raya is far too in love with her wife.’

[shy-peacock]

Chau or Lin go into Namaari and Raya’s room late at night crying because they had a nightmare. Similar to your fic with virana and her granddaughter😭

Adorable anon! <3

I had fun writing this, enjoy the silliness!

Rated G my dudes (cept tiny flirting moments between wives X3)

A storm tore through Kumandra City in the middle of the night. They were all knocked out, long day of working and running around in their titles as Leaders. Eager for a night of rest, especially given the promise of another busy schedule the next day. Only when that storm rolled in, lightning struck almost hilariously at the right spot to make the electricity surge throughout the city, all the white noise that was their fans and lullaby music in the house cut out briefly and then came right back on. Not before a wave of thunder shook the house with a loud rumble, waking everyone.

If that didn’t wake them, the scream of fear from Chau certainly did as he was shaken from his slumber by the noise. His cries even louder than the thunder.

Namaari was always amazed with how Raya could be sound asleep one moment but then up and on the move the next when it came to their kids. Chau only had to call her name once or Linh could just have begun to sniffle as she made to cry for her to be awake. So when the electricity knocked out and Chau began to cry out for them, Namaari had barely risen to a sitting position before Raya was out the door of their bedroom. Hardly up on her feet by the time Raya was walking by with an armful of blankets and sheets. Their five year old son following behind her, walking awkwardly in clothes that were clearly wet.

“What’s going on?” Namaari felt like she had said, though in her dazed state she really wasn’t sure what had come out of her mouth. Raya replying all the same with a nod back at the boy.

“Chau had an accident, will you check on Linh?” she asked, “I thought I heard her get up.”

Namaari nodded, believing she had said ‘okay’.

But again, she was tired and she was hardly coherent enough to get down the hallway. Apparently not even to watch where she was going as she walked into what she believed was the entrance to her daughter’s room, only to smack directly into the wall. Misjudging how far she had walked by…a lot.

A pain surged up her nose, her face, encasing her entire head in a dizzying pain as she fell to the floor. Clutching her head, groaning as she rolled into a fetal position. Her pride stinging more as it was rare for her to mess up something as simple as walking, even worse when she heard her wife come around the corner. Hurried at first as she thought the sound came from Linh, until she realized who it was on the floor. Now trying to force back a laugh.

“Are you okay?” she snorted, “what happened!?”

“I hit the wall..” Namaari mumbled.

“You hit the-..?”

“Wall..yes..”

There was a single second of sympathy and then Raya was laughing, unable to push it down any longer. (Not that she really pushed it down at all) Her wife busting up while she was struggling to stand, both of them more awake now, including Linh as she came to the door to see what happened.

“You okay, Mom-my?” Linh asked, from behind a binky in her mouth.

“Yes…Mommy is okay..” Namaari whined, giving Raya a grumpy look.

Raya pressed her lips together, trying to be a good example and not continue to laugh at her pain.

For now.

Chau had a nightmare, which had been perfectly timed with the thunder to wake the young boy up. Scaring him to the point he wet his bed instead of getting up as he typically did, running to his parents bedroom. He was terrified to go back to sleep after that, not in his own bed at least, and Linh, ever wanting to be like her brother, had to do exactly what he was doing. So they got Chau cleaned up, dressed in a fresh pair of jammies and all four of them climbed into the ‘big bed’ as their kids put it. Chau was so excited that he rushed to their room and nearly banged his face on the wall as Namaari had, the action once more causing Raya to laugh and tease her wife.

“Like mother, like son..huh?” she joked, earning her an eye roll from Namaari till she kissed her nose.

Now in bed, along with Tuk Tuk who had scrambled into their room amidst the entire event, they all were snuggled close as they got ready to sleep again. Chau in Namaari’s arms while Linh was in Raya’s. The boy twisting every so many minutes, lifting his head up towards the window as the storm continued to quake the world outside their window. The streaks of lightning causing him to whimper until she ran a hand soothingly through his hair.

“The storm can’t hurt you here, Chau-” she began, only for a roll of thunder to scare him as he sunk deeper into her arms. “That’s just thunder, it’s a noise…and the brightness is lightning.”

“Why is it ow-ed..?” Chau asked, bringing his Mother’s hand up to his ears, a comforting thing for him.

“Because the air gets hot with lightning, it heats everything around it super fast.” she explained, “that sound you’re hearing is when the air gets hot too quickly and it makes a big sound.”

Chau furrowed his eyebrow, “I don’t ike it..”

Namaari chuckled, “That’s okay, lots of people don’t like it.”

“Do you Mommy?”

“I like it now, but I didn’t when I was younger.” Namaari explained, “but then I pretended that lightning and thunder were friends.”

“Fwiends?”

“Yeah, I pretended that lightning and thunder are playing a game of tag.” she explained, “like you and me play sometimes….when lightning flashes then they tagged thunder..and when thunder rumbles it tagged lightning.”. “So when I’d hear a storm, I’d remember that even though it’s loud..they’re just having fun up in the clouds..and it made me smile.” she finished.

Chau thought long and hard about that one, Namaari nearly falling asleep until he added, “okay..they can puh-way, but next time they need to puh-way inside theiw house.”

Namaari chuckled lightly, mostly asleep.

“Okay, maybe their Moms can have a talk with them.”

“They have mommies!?” Chau gasped.

“Uh..”

“Who awe theiw mommies!?”

“Um..the clouds..”

Raya snorted, apparently still awake.

As well as still having a case of the giggles.

“Which cowds?” he asked then.

“Um..” Namaari began, lost now that she had bullshitted her answers as she looked to Raya for guidance.

“Alright, swapsy!” Raya announced, sitting up then while Chau gasped and then cheered. Clearly knowing what that meant as they had done this several times before. Namaari sitting up as well to shove the boy across the bed towards Raya, their son giggling as he rolled towards Raya while her wife scooped up Linh and literally tossed her over him to Namaari who caught her.

“No more questions mister, time for bed!” Raya teased, tugging him closer so that she could rock him. The boy whined then as the fun was ending only to melt into his Mother’s arms as she cradled him and began to trace his face with her finger like she did nearly every night since he was a baby. Somehow that being the magic touch to get him to pass out within minutes. Linh was already asleep when Raya had tossed her, waking a moment just to see what was happening only to fall right back into it. Both kids, now asleep between them.

Namaari sighed in relief, plopping down on the pillow. Eager to go to sleep then, only to be poked by Raya in the next second or so. Her finger brushing along her face much like she had Chau’s.

“What are you doing?” Namaari whispered, amused, brushing her hand away.

“Just trying to see where he gets that from..” Raya hushed and put it back on her face, “does this relax you?”

“Not in the slightest…”

“Really?”

“I can tell you where your finger would relax me-”

Raya lightly bumped her head with her hand, rolling her eyes with a mischievous grin.

“Hey, be easy on me!” Namaari laughed, “I just had a head injury?!”

“You hit your nose not your-”

“It was my face-...attached to my head-”

“Want me to kiss it better?”

Namaari shrugged, giving her a playful grin.

“It couldn’t hurt?”

Raya leaned up and Namaari met her halfway, stealing a kiss on her lips when she tried to kiss her nose. Namaari kissed her again when she felt Raya smile into it, amused by her antics.

“Alright..” Namaari laughed, pulling back, “we should actually go to bed now..we have a busy day-...again..tomorrow.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me…” Raya sighed, falling back onto her pillow, “maybe we can use your late-night face injury as an excuse to stay home tomorrow, play hookey and relax all day with just us and the kids.”

To be honest, as Namaari laid down, that didn’t sound like a bad idea.

[thedragonnerd]

Rayaari headcanon - canon learning each others' hidden talents

(inspired by this lovely anon)

When Raya and Namaari finally start dating, to the relief of all around them, they soon learn that despite knowing each other for a long time, there are still many surprises to discover about the other person.

After politely tasting Raya's jackfruit jerky, Namaari had (perhaps uncharitably) assumed that Raya would be terrible at cooking. But on one of their first dates, Raya surprises her with a picnic, full of wonderful food that she confesses she made herself. Namaari devours everything on her plate, and vows right then to encourage Raya to cook more often. (The jerky is never produced again, however)

Namaari is a fairly introverted person, good at leading her soldiers when they need a commander, but just as content to sit back in a group and observe quietly. She rarely seeks to make herself center of attention outside of her official duties, and even for dancing, Raya has to interlink their fingers and drag her onto the dance floor before she relaxes enough to have fun in a crowd. It is because of this that Raya assumes she will not be interested in joining into an impromptu singing session that Sisu and some of their friends have started around a campfire one night. But when Namaari laughs and begins to sing along also, the voices of everyone else begin to fade away, too surprised at the beautiful sound coming from her mouth. Namaari is embarrassed when she realises, but Raya's shining eyes manage to persuade her to sing for them again.

Raya has never seemed comfortable around children, at least not in the way Namaari shows herself to be. Some of this is simply because Raya isn't used to tiny humans, and isn't sure how to entertain them. One day however, Namaari is called away to carry out some political duties, and she begs Raya to take over the training session for the little ones, just for the afternoon. When she returns a few hours later, she finds Raya surrounded by a pile of very worn out children, telling them a story while using several surprisingly accurate accents and voices for the different characters. Namaari watches quietly while Raya finishes her tale and cheers along with the children at the description of its final battle, full of dynamic character voices.

One of Raya's favourite places to relax is next to a secluded lake not far from the palace in Heart. Whenever Namaari visits, they invariably find themselves there almost every evening, at least in the warm months. It's especially useful when they are seeking privacy for kisses, where there is less risk of someone disturbing them. Raya likes to lie there quietly with her eyes shut, listening to the sound of the water gently lapping at the stones on the shore, and feeling the warmth of Namaari lying next to her. Sometimes however, Namaari is far more restless, not able to lie still for too long. The first time this happens, Raya opens her eyes to find Namaari skipping stones across the lake, watching the rock bounce impressively until it disappears into the water far away from where they stand. No matter how much she tries, Raya will never be able to skip the stone as much - nor is she be able to throw anything as far as Namaari can in general. Raya blames Namaari's arm mucles.

Raya is however a physical person, often running around and finding Things To Do, or fights to train for, or adventures she can drag Namaari along on. Some of these activities result not only in scrapes and bruises on her own skin, but tears in her clothing also. Namaari is impressed to see Raya is very adept with a needle and thread, fixing the small holes in her day-to-day clothes without even thinking to find a seamstress. 'It was a useful skill to have, out there in our past world,' Raya tells her, when she see Namaari watching.

Namaari loves to work with knives, Raya notices. And not just swords or knives for throwing in a fight, but small pocket knives that she can pull out and thoughtlessly play with. Sometimes when they are relaxing, Namaari hunts down a piece of wood, and will sit and quietly carve out small figurines. She gifts some to the children of Fang or Heart, but most of them make their way into Raya's possession. Some of them she places carefully on a shelf in her bedroom, but her favourites she carries on her person at all times, as a nice reminder of Namaari.

For some frustrating reason, Raya cannot always sleep well at night, always too restless at bedtime unless lying in bed with an arm curled over Namaari's waist. But during the day...well, she can fall into a short nap in an instant. It's a trick she learnt on the road during the Druun years - being able to catch a power nap while Tuk Tuk stood watch was a valuable skill to have. Sometimes, Namaari finds it slightly frustrating when they are in the middle of a conversation, only for her to turn and find Raya fast asleep almost mid-sentence. But Raya looks so sweet when she naps, Namaari instead ends up just watching her with a smile on her face.

Whenever they are at large parties or Council gatherings, Namaari always impresses Raya by her ability to recognize the names and faces of everyone around them. Raya can barely remember the main Council members, let alone their advisors and whatever political envoys are visiting for the week. Namaari however can smoothly slide into conversations with anyone around her, even remembering small details about the person's personal life that they may have mentioned a visit or two previously. It's a skill that Namaari learnt from a young age, needing to emerge as a strong leader for Fang, and that required being able to connect to her people. In return, everyone in Fang bows deeply to their Princess, a love in their hearts for their leader who can smile and call each person by name.

Namaari is a serious person by nature, so often focused on work or stressed about responsibilities that weigh on her shoulders. But Raya...Raya can always make her laugh, even during inopportune times such as Council meetings. She seems to have the ability to know exactly when Namaari's mood needs lifting, as well as the uncanny knowledge of whether it is a silly joke that will set off her smile for the day, or some biting sarcastic remark.

After six years of being alone and without any human to truly trust or have as a support, Raya has become accustomed to moments of feeling unsafe. Sometimes, this feeling overwhelms her when she's in the middle of a large crowd; other times, it is late at night in the darkness. But whenever Namaari is there, those feelings of vulnerability fade, her steadiness and calm manner bringing a sense of security to Raya. Even at night, if Raya awakens and senses fear, she merely has to burrow into Namaari's arms, and the strong hands on her back will let a feeling of calm wash over her.

[shy-peacock]

More baby life with chau or linh💕 maybe new born linh and Chau like “wowowowowwow” at her all the time or some new born chau with Raya and namaari being stressed parents🤓

Not baby but just the kiddos being turds and fighting/stressing their parents out XD (no proof- just G and kids being weird)

Raya’s face said it all when Namaari walked through the door. 

It had been a bad day.

The house was clean, the children were quiet-...absent actually, where they typically would be right at the door talking a mile a minute about their day or asking Namaari about how their Grandma was or if she had met anyone important on her trip out to Fang. 

But nope-

They were not at the door and Raya was sitting on the couch, reading, with an annoyed look on her face. Hardly perking up when Namaari came in through the door, so lost in her frustrations that she didn’t even notice she was home until Namaari was standing before her. Cautiously, Namaari offering her a sheepish smile.

“Bad…day?” she asked, already knowing.

“Not for me-” Raya said, rolling her eyes, “the kids maybe.”

“I’m almost afraid to ask…”

“They’re in Chau’s room.” Raya sighed, “had to get the shirt.”

Oh no. Not the shirt?!

Namaari sighed, preparing herself as she followed Raya down the hall. Her wife abandoned her book to present their children to them, showing that they indeed were in Chau’s room. Sitting on his bed, both pouting and clearly pissed off as can be as they were stuck together by a single shirt.

Their ‘get-along-shirt’.

It had been a rough few days in their household. Chau had a growth spurt which was almost frightfully rapid. Namaari swearing by whatever Gods above that he went to bed looking like an average nine year old and woke up looking like a young teen. His pants were shorter, his height shooting up, eating everything and anything in sight to accommodate his growing body. His limbs sore and, for some reason, somehow becoming far more clumsier as if he couldn’t quite understand how big he had become. Making his moods cranky when he didn’t get enough to eat or when his legs felt sore every other day.

Linh was going through a ‘I’m a big kid’ phase, after finishing first grade and the pride she felt for being promoted to the ever-glorious ‘second grade’. Wanting to be acknowledged for her greatness, hoping for independence and respect that always came naturally from her parents- however not so much from her older brother. The two butting heads, arguing over petty and silly things they never argued over before. Most of which was diffused when they were sent in the opposite direction of themselves, Linh going to her room and Chau to his own. However, that apparently did not happen today. The pair choosing to take the low road and continue fighting with one another instead of listening. Earning them this consequence, the ‘get along shirt’.

An oversized T-shirt that forced the two to be together until they made up. A consequence they rarely had to use, mostly done as a last resort. But, given the last few days, Namaari knew it was only a matter of time till they were bringing the shirt out. 

“Well, they couldn’t seem to leave each other alone-..despite several attempts to talk things out, so..we got the shirt out.” Raya concluded, “my final straw is when they started throwing punches-..”

“What did you both say-” Namaari asked, unamused.

“No-...honey, I mean literally throwing punches-..”

“Oh-..”

“It’s her fault!” Chau whined, “she punched me first!”

“That’s cause you knocked my books over!” Linh yelled back, though her voice was muffled as half her head was beneath the collar of the shirt now thanks to Chau’s new height.

“Because I tripped!” Chau countered.

“I told you to get out of my room!” Linh snapped.

“And I told you to stop stealing my-!”

“Enough, both of you.” Raya scolded, placing her hands on her hips. A clear indication she meant business, though Namaari couldn’t help to find her adorable. “Now, you have a choice to solve your differences or you two can stay in that shirt-”

“For how long-...?!” Chau sniffed, actually looking like he was about to cry.

“Till-...” Raya said, trying to pull a time in the future, “-....college!”

“WHAT!?” Linh cried, “but I’m supposed to go to a prestigious college and graduate at the top of my class!?”

“Yeah-...and I-....!” Chau furrowed his eyebrows, trying to think, “I have stuff to do too!”

“Fine.” Raya said, “till supper then.”

Both kids pouted even more, as if that was just as bad.

“Can I at least cut a hole so I can breathe..?” Linh mumbled, “all I smell is Chau’s nasty armpits and my brain cells dying-”

“MY ARMPITS AREN’T NASTY-!”

Raya sighed, giving Namaari a look.

Namaari shot it back at her.

“We’ll call you when supper is done.” Raya announced, letting the two hash it out then. Knowing they had the tools to do exactly what they needed to solve their problem with one another. Even if it took the rest of the evening.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Quick end-...but BONUS????)

Chau and Linh: (Sitting at the table, still in their ‘get along shirt’ as they try to eat a plate of spaghetti. Both a complete mess, yet somehow this task is so tedious and odd that it is promoting them to work together. So they actually forget why they are fighting and work together to eat despite only having one arm each. 

Chau: can you help me get my water, please? ^_^

Linh: Yes, thank you for saying please ^_^

Raya, whispering to Namaari: we have to write this down-...for later..

Namaari, whispering back: definitely.. 

[thedragonnerd]

Rayaari headcanon - let's keep Disney magic with The Lion King AU

(inspired by this lovely anon)

To the people of Heart, Benja is their King, an admired ruler who is fair to his citizens and listens to their troubles. To Raya though, he is simply her father Ba, and one of her best friends.

Her mother passed away when Raya was young, but she has an uncle who lives at the palace. Raya can't actually remember his real name - his nickname has been 'Druun' for as long as she can remember.

The role of being a ruler does not particularly appeal to Raya at her young age. She much prefers to spend her time having adventures around Heart, much to the annoyance of her bodyguards.

Namaari is the Princess of Fang, Heart's neighbouring land and close ally. Raya has known her since they were babies, with Benja and Virana often holding diplomatic meetings. While these discussions are going on, Raya finds ways to drag Namaari into whatever important adventures she may find.

After one particularly chaotic visit to Fang, where Raya and Namaari had tried to climb out of the window in Namaari's room and ended up being caught on the roof instead, Benja wakes Raya early. He is determined to instill a sense of responsibility in her, and so he leads her up the great mountain in the darkness of the early morning. They arrive at the temple just as dawn is breaking, and together they watch the sun rise slowly across their lands.

'Over there is Fang,' he points to his right, and Raya peers into the distance. 'Everywhere the light touches is our land, Raya...our people of Heart. One day, the sun will set on my time here as leader, and rise with you as Queen instead. And you must be ready for it.'

Raya sweeps her gaze across the land of Heart, before it finally alights on a dark and shadowy speck on the horizon. 'What about that shadowy place?' she asks, intrigued. Benja grasps her shoulder tightly. 'That's beyond our borders, Raya, and into Spine territory. You must never go there.' The adventurous side of Raya can't help but be intrigued.

On her way back to the palace, Raya runs into her uncle, and can't help but mention this to him - interested to know if he'll share more information with her. 'Ah yes, the forests of Spine,' Druun mentions with a sneer. 'But your father is absolutely right! You must never go there, Raya. It's a beautiful land, covered with snow for much of the year, but only the most hardened of warriors can go there. It's far too dangerous for a little girl like you.'

Raya is both annoyed by the implication that she cannot face down a Spine warrior, and fascinated by the idea of the land's magical forests, which Heart children know only from stories.

Namaari and her mother are visiting Heart the following day, and Raya doesn't hesitate to grab her friend by the hand and drag her away from the adults. 'I have a really cool place to show you,' she whispers to Namaari.

They manage to evade their royal guards, and steal away after the midday meal, riding Namaari's serlot out to the borderland. When they slip across the boundary into a land of cold snow, tall trees, and a buzzing sense of magic in the air, Raya is entranced. She's so busy exploring her new surroundings that she doesn't notice the danger from three Spine warriors until Namaari tugs on her sleeve, an urgent 'Raya' hissed in her ear.

The Spine warriors are delighted to discover the children of their enemies standing right within their territory, and they attack before Raya and Namaari even have a chance to run. The two girls try to fight them off, but they don't have the skill to face down an entire group of adult warriors.

Suddenly, Benja and Virana arrive, alerted by an eagle-eyed scout, and fight back the Spine men with ease, dragging their daughters away. Once they are safely back in Heart territory, Benja turns his disappointment on Raya.

Virana takes Naamari back to Fang that very day, also angry at her own daughter. Raya feels terrible when she realizes Namaari could have gotten hurt or worse during their adventure, and can barely wave goodbye. Years later, she wishes she had hugged Namaari instead, not realizing it would be the last time she'd see her for a very long time.

A week later, Raya happens to cross paths with Druun, when he reaches out to stop her, sharp fingers digging into her shoulder. 'Your father's looking for you,' he says shortly. 'Something about wanting to train you to fight properly, after that Spine fiasco.' Raya is slightly hurt by the idea that she is a poor fighter, but she goes down to the empty training grounds to wait for her Ba.

Instead of Ba, she is set upon by an even larger group of Spine warriors, who have clearly entered Heart with deadly intent. She sprints back towards the palace, hearing their heavy breaths close behind her as she flees.

Benja flies past her in the other direction, sword already raised to meet them in combat. 'Raya, run!' he yells, and the fear in his voice makes her listen.

She turns back when she thinks she is at a safer distance, just in time to see Ba be kicked to the ground. One of the Spine warriors brings his blade swinging down, and she screams at the sight.

The invaders leave as soon as the deed is done, Benja lying prone on the ground. Raya stumbles over to him as fast as she can, ignoring the retreating backs of Spine for a moment. 'Ba?' she whispers, kneeling in the bloodied dirt beside him and grasping one of his hands. 'Ba? Please wake up.'

'Raya, what have you done?' Drunn says, appearing from behind her. 'Your little excursion into Spine must have brought them here for revenge. What will your people think...What will Fang think? You've just caused your father to be killed, and started a war.'

'I didn't mean to,' Raya sobs, dropping her forehead to rest on Benja's chest, with her fingers clenching at his clothes. 'What do I do?'

'Run,' Druun says. 'And never return.' Raya runs, still covered in her father's blood.

She can't bring herself to go to Fang; instead, she flees through Spine, narrowly avoiding their hunting parties, and then through Talon. It's only when she arrives in Tail, the farthest land she can be from Heart, that she can breathe properly. The heartbreak threatens to overwhelm her.

She's found in the midst of the Tail desert by Sisu, a loud but kind-hearted individual who immediately introduces Raya to the rest of her family, an eclectic group of outcasts in their own rights.

Years pass, and Raya makes herself a new home in Tail, alongside Sisu and the rest of her family. It's a simple life, and she does everything possible to forget her past, choosing to live always in the present instead.

During rare times where she does allow herself to reminisce, she can't help but miss Namaari fiercely as well as her Ba. She knows she will never see her friend again, but wishes they could have talked at least once more in life.

One day, Raya is out on a hunting trip, stalking her prey for a long time to find the perfect shot, when an arrow shoots out from behind her. Spinning around, she sees a beautiful young woman, carrying a crossbow.

'That was my dinner,' Raya says in annoyance, but the other woman just snorts. 'No way, binturi...this is all mine.'

The voice is so familiar, so Raya squints at her opponent for a second, before recognition suddenly springs to mind. '...'Maari?' she whispers, and she can see the moment Namaari recognizes her in return. She rushes to Namaari, who picks her up and spins her around before settling into an embrace, both of them talking excitedly over each other. 'I thought you were dead,' Namaari says, arms tight around Raya's waist.

Later, when they have calmed down, Namaari tells her she is on a mission to find food...and help. Heart is apparently in disarray, with Druun allowing Spine to bring in their own forces and use up many of the natural resources. Fang has held out against their desire for further expansion for now, but war between Heart/Spine and Fang is imminent.

'I will not let our people kill each other for the whims of a mad king,' Namaari tells her passionately. 'They are starving and desperate, and we need to find a way to remove Spine's influence from Heart. But Raya, this is perfect. You can return and challenge your uncle...Take your place as rightful leader of Heart.'

Raya feels sick to her stomach at the idea of returning to Heart, wanting more than anything to avoid facing her past and the blame that lies at her feet. But Namaari is a shining beacon in front of her, burning with a righteous passion about saving everyone. Raya never could say no to Namaari.

Raya and Namaari return together, riding side by side into the desolate wasteland that has befallen Heart, with Sisu and her siblings following not far behind. It hurts to be back home, especially seeing it in this state, and as Raya marches up the stairs to the palace, she draws strength from her anger.

'Raya, what a surprise to see you...alive,' Druun says, when she bursts into the throne room. His eyes glance towards the Spine warriors at his side.

'Uncle, stop whatever madness that has you waging wars against our allies, whilst our enemies now take from our lands as they choose,' Raya says, trying to appear strong, but Druun merely gestures his hand in order to amass his Spine fighters around him.

'I should have killed you and Benja with my own hands, rather leaving it to these imbeciles to do it for me,' Druun snaps, and then he is upon her with his sword. Raya fights back with everything she has, white-hot rage fueling her as she realizes what he means by those words.

But Druun is a seasoned warrior, with strong backup, and soon Raya finds herself surrounded.

'FOR HEART!' a yell sounds, and then Heart soldiers are streaming into the palace, accompanied by hundreds of Fang warriors, led by Namaari.

Spine soldiers are pushed back towards their own borders, although Raya pays little attention when she has Druun at the end of her blade. 'I should execute you for what you did to my father,' she snarls, but relaxes when she feels Namaari gently touch her shoulder. She watches instead as he is dragged away to prison, to await proper justice.

Heart is almost in ruins, her people hungry, desperate and lost, but Raya feels as if she can breathe again properly for the first time in years, just by being back.

There is a warmth by her side, and then Namaari is there, smiling down at her. 'Welcome home, dep la,' she says, and Raya reaches out to hold her hand.